Final/11
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 EDTANAHEIM, 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).
- ML
FINAL 11
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
- - - - - - - - -
PITTSBURGH 1 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0
LA ANGELS 0 0 0 0 0 1 2 1 0
10 11 R H E
-- -- - - -
PITTSBURGH 0 0 4 8 1
LA ANGELS 0 1 5 18 0 (FINAL 11)
BATTERIES: PIT
Jun 23 1:34 AM - ML
AT LA ANGELS - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY ORLANDO CABRERA SCORED CHONE FIGGINS.
FINAL SCORE: LA ANGELS 5, PITTSBURGH 4
Pirates vs. AngelsJun 23 1:34 AM - ML
AT LA ANGELS - SCORING UPDATE
DOUBLE BY REGGIE WILLITS SCORED NATHAN HAYNES.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, R WILLITS ON THIRD, 2 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: PITTSBURGH 4
LA ANGELS 4 BOTTOM, 8TH
DUE UP FOR LA ANGELS: C FIGGINS (.289, 0-FOR-4)
Pirates vs. AngelsJun 23 12:42 AM - ML
AT LA ANGELS - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY ORLANDO CABRERA SCORED REGGIE WILLITS.
SITUATION: 2 RUNS IN, O CABRERA ON FIRST, 1 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: PITTSBURGH 4
LA ANGELS 3 BOTTOM, 7TH
DUE UP FOR LA ANGELS: V GUERRERO (.327, 1-FOR-3)
Pirates vs. AngelsJun 23 12:18 AM - ML
AT LA ANGELS - SCORING UPDATE
DOUBLE BY REGGIE WILLITS SCORED MIKE NAPOLI.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, R WILLITS ON THIRD, 0 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: PITTSBURGH 4
LA ANGELS 2 BOTTOM, 7TH
DUE UP FOR LA ANGELS: C FIGGINS (.291, 0-FOR-3)
Pirates vs. AngelsJun 23 12:13 AM - ML
AT LA ANGELS - SCORING UPDATE
SOLO HOME RUN BY ORLANDO CABRERA (4) TO LEFT WITH 0 OUT IN
THE 6TH OFF ZACH DUKE.
CURRENT SCORE: PITTSBURGH 4, LA ANGELS 1
DUE UP FOR LA ANGELS: V GUERRERO (.328, 1-FOR-2)
Pirates vs. AngelsJun 22 11:48 PM - ML
AT LA ANGELS - SCORING UPDATE
TWO-RUN HOME RUN BY JASON BAY (12) TO LEFT WITH 2 OUT IN
THE 3RD OFF JOE SAUNDERS SCORED RAJAI DAVIS.
CURRENT SCORE: PITTSBURGH 4, LA ANGELS 0
DUE UP FOR PITTSBURGH: X NADY (.276, 0-FOR-1)
Pirates vs. AngelsJun 22 10:58 PM - ML
AT LA ANGELS - SCORING UPDATE
SINGLE BY RAJAI DAVIS SCORED JACK WILSON.
SITUATION: 1 RUN IN, R DAVIS ON FIRST, 0 OUT
CURRENT SCORE: PITTSBURGH 2
LA ANGELS 0 TOP, 3RD
DUE UP FOR PITTSBURGH: J BAUTISTA (.273, 0-FOR-1)
Pirates vs. AngelsJun 22 10:50 PM - ML
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 R H E
- - - - - - - - - - - -
PITTSBURGH 1 1 2 0
LA ANGELS 0 0 0 (BOT 1)
CURRENT PITCHERS: PIT - ZACH DUKE
LAA - JOE SAUNDERS
DUE UP FOR LA ANGELS: R WILLITS (.337, 0 HR, 20 RBI)
C FIGGINS (.295, 1 HR, 20 RBI)
O CABRERA (.337, 3 HR, 40 RBI)
Pirates vs. AngelsJun 22 10:18 PM
Related News
- Anthony Rendon's Apathy Doesn't Bode Well for Angels Feb 21
- Pirates Top Games of 2023: No. 6 - Drew Maggi gets his moment Dec 23
- The Pirates got it right with Andrew McCutchen Dec 22
- Bucs Arghticles: Pirates’ Andrew McCutchen makes comments after signing Dec 22
- Pirates targeting first baseman in upcoming MLB Draft Dec 22
- Bucs Arghticles: Pirates sign Ryan Mattson Dec 21
- Pirates Top Games of 2023: No. 7 - Johan Oviedo shuts out the Royals Dec 20
- Andrew McCutchen re-signs with Pirates for 2024 season Dec 19
- Talk the Plank Podcast: The Pirates are a bit ‘Rowdy’ Dec 19
- Bucs Arghticles: Pirates sign Martín Pérez to deal Dec 19
- Pirates sign Martin Perez to one-year deal Dec 18
- Pirates Top Games of 2023: No. 8 — Mitch Keller tosses four-hit shutout against Rockies Dec 18