By Matt Snyder After working over the Astros to the tune of 11-3, the Arizona Diamondbacks have now won 11 of their last 12 and are clearly the hottest team in the NL. When things are going well, you generally start to see things like we saw Saturday night.
Zach Duke, he of the 5.72 ERA and 1.65 WHIP last season for the Pirates, made his first start of the 2011 season. He had made only one start in Triple-A and allowed five earned runs in 5 1/3 innings. All he did Saturday for the D-Backs was throw seven shutout innings, allowing only three hits and one walk while striking out four.
Just in case his stellar work on the hill wasn't enough, he hit a three-run homer in the bottom of the fourth to effectively put the game out of reach at 6-0. It was the first career home run for Duke, coming in his 348th plate appearance.
That's a decent D-Backs debut, huh?
Things are certainly going quite well in Arizona. The way it's going for the expected powers in the NL West to date (Giants, Rockies), it might just be the perfect time to make the move.
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