Another gem for Duke of twirl
After nine innings of baseball, it was clear whose night it was.
"It was Zach Duke's night," catcher Ryan Doumit said. "It's to be expected every time he takes the mound."
Pittsburg's rookie revelation tossed seven shutout innings as the Pirates beat the Mets, 5-0. Duke earned his sixth victory, allowing two hits, striking out five and remaining undefeated in nine starts.
Duke flummoxed the Mets with a sinking two-seam fastball, solid changeup and a curve that twice bent around the bat of the Mets' best hitter, outfielder Cliff Floyd. Duke said that he knew Floyd was a great fastball hitter, and put faith in his curveball.
The pitch made Floyd a believer.
"I hope he'll be around a long time," Floyd said. "The game needs guys like him. He can turn a franchise around."
"Why not?" Floyd added. "I won't be around much longer."
While Pirates manager Lloyd McClendon is quick to point out that Duke's talents are what got him to the Majors, it is the young pitcher's poise that impresses his teammates. The 22-year-old stepped into the Pirates' rotation in July, earned National League Rookie of the Month honors and hasn't looked back.
He's making a strong case to be named the senior circuit's Rookie of the Year, rebounding from his only poor start in the big leagues to shut down the Mets. Duke allowed four runs in four innings against the Astros on Aug. 12, but he didn't factor in the decision.
"I don't think I've seen a kid as young as he is, as posied as he is in my 10-year career," reliever Rick White said. "He's phenomenal. He's real relaxed. He doesn't go with whatever the catcher puts down, he has an idea. And if he doesn't get his idea, he shakes to his idea and he goes with it."
"Every time he takes the mound, he just gets locked in," Doumit said. "Atmosphere, location, it doesn't matter where we're playing, he's just going to be him."
Duke ran into trouble only once, putting runners on the corners with one out in the seventh. But he rocketed a fastball in on Chris Woodward before tossing a changeup away to induce an inning-ending double play. McClendon praised the sequence, citing it as another example of Duke making pitches when he needs to.
Duke made his pitches in front of 35,653 Thursday night, but the large crowd and big-city atmosphere had no effect on the rookie. It actually gave him a charge, Duke said.
"That's why you play the game, to have a big crowd and get them into it and go with the emotions of the game," Duke said.
The Pirates scored first for the third straight game, this time when Jose Castillo drove in Doumit with a two-out double in the second. They maintained a 1-0 lead for the first time in the series. A baserunning blunder by Castillo tempered the potential damage, as he tried to advance on the throw home and was tagged out at third base to end the inning.
Two innings later, the Pirates broke the game open, scoring three runs off Mets starter Victor Zambrano. Brad Eldred hit a two-run home run, and then Doumit and Castillo ripped back-to-back doubles.
Castillo again tried to stretch out his hit, and again was thrown out at third. McClendon said his response wasn't fit for print.
The Pirates added another run in the eighth on Doumit's RBI single. Doumit finished 3-for-4 with two runs scored and an RBI. It was a stark contrast to Wednesday night, when Doumit struck out with one out and runners on second and third.
"Today's a new day," Doumit said. "I take the same approach every day. It was just one of those moments last night. Today I was locked in."
Doumit caught Duke for the first time in the Major Leagues on Thursday, something he had been looking forward for quite some time. Doumit said he was excited to be a part of Duke's stellar start, because he knows what Duke is capable of.
To cap the night, Duke ripped the first hit of his Major League career with a single in the sixth.
"That's my most prized possession right now," Duke said, only half-joking.
After going seven innings Thursday, Duke has pitched 165 on the season between the Majors and Minors, is two shy of his career high, which he set last season. But Duke maintains that he feels good and is fine leaving the decision of when he pitches out of his hands. Duke's success is making the decision tough on McClendon, who realizes the Pirates will soon have to make -- and stick to -- a decision on what's best for Duke.
"It's awfully nice to see him do the things he's doing this year," McClendon said. "But he's got a career ahead of him and we need to make sure that we do everything in our power to ensure that he's going to be healthy."
A healthy Duke seems set to dominate opposing hitters for years to come. But sometimes, Duke still comes off like the 22-year-old he is, saying that he wakes up with a smile just because he's in the Majors, and that he's convinced that something will faze him, at some point.
"It's just a matter of time, I suppose," he said. "It'll happen, I'm sure."
After Thursday's performance, the list of people who agree with that might be down to one.
Ben Couch is a contributor to MLB.com.