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Duke may be running out of chances on the mound

Jun 22, 2007 - 1:04 PM Pittsburgh (31-41) at LA Angels (46-27) 10:05 pm EDT

ANAHEIM, California (Ticker) - Blanked in their last two games, the Pittsburgh Pirates visit the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim in the opener of a three-game series Friday.

Against the Seattle Mariners, the Pirates suffered the indignity of being shutout by previously winless Jeff Weaver on Wednesday before being stymied by 21-year-old Felix Hernandez on Thursday.

Pittsburgh starter Zach Duke (3-6, 5.38 ERA) set the baseball world on fire when he came up in 2005, going 8-2 with a 1.81 ERA in 14 starts during his rookie campaign. But after a sub-par 2006, Duke is off to a rough start this season.

The 24-year-old lefthander has seeb opposing batters hit .351 against him this season, with a .532 slugging percentage. Duke's struggles have led to questions about whether he might need to be sent back down to the minors for some more seasoning.

The less than stellar Pirates' offense will be taking its cracks against spot-starter Joe Saunders (3-0, 2.22 ERA). The 26-year-old lefthander is taking the place of righthander Jered Weaver, who was scratched due to discomfort in his pitching shoulder.

Saunders has been fantastic in limited action this season, allowing just six earned runs over four starts. In his last start - June 2 against Baltimore - he surrendered two runs and four hits in six innings to earn a win.

Anaheim is off to its best 73-game start in franchise history and leads the American League West by six games over Oakland (39-32).