Two nights, two top right-handers pitching their first career major league complete games -- and first shutouts.
Rangers RHP Yu Darvish did it Wednesday, and Tigers RHP Max Scherzer got in barely under two starts with his first on Thursday.
In today's game of pitch counts and general coddling of pitchers, complete games are becoming increasingly rare. They now are almost always shutouts, because only a low-scoring, low-baserunner effort can get starters in under their pitch limit.
Another first Thursday was the first victory of 2014 by Rockies RHP Jhoulys Chacin. If he can continue to pitch well, up to the standard he has set during his first few years in the majors, Colorado could stay in the wild-card race if not in contention in the difficult National League West.
The reduction in starters' innings necessarily has raised the number of relief innings in the majors. And with the relatively new one-inning-at-a-time philosophy, that means more relievers in a game. Many of them are the hanger-on type of lefty reliever.
It's not a first for Brewers LHP Zach Duke, unless you consider that this is his first year with more than three wins since 2010.
He's in his 10th major league season, but aside from a 1-0 record with in nine games for the 2012 Nationals, he hadn't had a winning record since his brilliant 2005 rookie year with the Pirates: 8-2, 1.81 ERA, 1.20 WHIP, .253 opponents' batting average.
Even with that season and this year's 4-0, 1.37 ERA, 0.99 WHIP, .219 OBA in 26 1/3 innings, Duke has career numbers of 43-76, 4.49, 1.48 and 3.03.
With his fifth major league team, all in the NL, Duke has struck out 34. His strikeout rate is way more than double that of 2008, when he struck out just 87 in 185 innings. Originally slated as the Brewers' one-lefty-batter reliever so common among the hanger-on left-handers, Duke has assumed much more responsibility in Milwaukee's bullpen.
I'll have some All-Star talk for you later.
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