NewsBucs set rotation for final weekend
Pittsburgh (62-97) at Cincinnati (76-84), 7:10 p.m. ET
By Jenifer Langosch / MLB.com
10/02/09 10:40 PM EST
CINCINNATI -- After a few days of uncertainty as to who would pitch the Pirates' season finale on Sunday, manager John Russell announced how his rotation will fill out to finish up the season. As expected, Zach Duke will make Saturday's start against the Reds and will look to build upon the 8 2/3-inning start he made on Monday. Duke needs to last at least 7 1/3 innings on Saturday if he wants to match his career-high innings pitched total of 215 1/3. He set that back in 2006. Going on Sunday will be Jeff Karstens instead of Kevin Hart, whose turn in the rotation it would have been. There had been talk that Hart might be shut down because of concern over his season pitch count. As it turns out, however, it is rib cage strain that will keep Hart out of the contest. He felt some cramping in his rib cage before and during his previous start and continued to feel it during the week. "We were very intent on having him start on Sunday," Russell said. "The things he's been working, we wanted to give him one more start to continue to work on, continue to compete. He probably could pitch with it, but we just didn't see any sense of having him going out there." As a result, Hart finishes the season 1-8 with a 6.92 ERA in 10 starts after being acquired from the Cubs. Karstens will take the mound on Sunday on only three days' rest. However, because the right-hander needed only 61 pitches to get through five innings in his spot start on Wednesday, the Pirates don't expect that quick comeback to be of much concern. Karstens will likely throw three to four innings before Russell uses various relievers to get through the rest of the game. While Karstens and Duke each have one more outing in which to finish the season on a high note, Paul Maholm's 2009 campaign ended abruptly on Thursday. He threw the first three innings of the Pirates' game against the Cubs only to have rain stop play in the fourth and eventually wash out the rest of the contest. "I felt good," said Maholm, who allowed three hits in three innings. "My sinker was working. Personally, I would have liked to have gotten back to .500 and cross the 200-inning mark again. That was a goal going into the game was to make sure I got past the 200-inning mark. Now I'm not able to. But I also know that I was prepared enough for the season to get past it." Maholm finishes with 194 2/3 innings under his belt this year since his three innings from Thursday do not officially count in the statistics. Last year, the left-hander led the team with 206 1/3 innings pitched. Pitching matchupPIT: LHP Zach Duke (11-15, 3.94 ERA)
Duke was sensational in his previous start, which was marred only by Russell's decision to remove the left-hander with one out left to in the ninth. Duke allowed one run in those 8 2/3 innings and threw 74 of his 103 pitches for strikes against the National League's best hitting team in the Dodgers. Duke has already set a career high in wins and now enters his final start of the season trying to get back-to-back victories for the first time since early June. Duke is 3-5 with a 3.93 ERA in nine starts against the Reds. CIN: RHP Johnny Cueto (10-11, 4.35 ERA)
During a 3-2 loss to the Astros, Cueto gave up three earned runs and six hits over 7 1/3 innings with five walks and five strikeouts. One rough inning cost Cueto when he started the third by allowing back-to-back singles and a walk to load the bases. That led to a pair of runs and a 2-0 deficit. Bucs bits
Right-hander Craig Hansen underwent another nerve test last week to see if the nerve in his neck is regenerating. General manager Neal Huntington said the test revealed improvement, but not to the point where Hansen might begin throwing soon. ... Shortstop Ronny Cedeno is unlikely to play again this season, Russell said on Friday. ... Pittsburgh entered its final series of the season with 170 double plays turned this year, which leads the National League. Tickets
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• Sunday: Pirates (Jeff Karstens, 4-5, 5.37) at Reds (Homer Bailey, 7-5, 4.78), 1:10 p.m. ET
Jenifer Langosch is a reporter for MLB.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Baseball or its clubs.
