Almost perfect: Pirates’ Karstens tosses two-hitter

He retired the first 23 hitters before giving up a double in the eighth inning.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

PHOENIX (AP) — Jeff Karstens has given the Pittsburgh Pirates a perfect start.

Almost a perfect game, too.

The recently acquired right-hander set down the first 23 batters before Chris Young’s two-out double in the eighth inning and finished with a two-hitter Wednesday in a 2-0 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks.

“We knew what he was capable of doing,” Pirates manager John Russell said. “We had very good reports on him. The biggest thing is he throws strikes. That’s a great asset for any pitcher.”

Karstens (2-0) has tossed 15 scoreless innings — against a pair of first-place teams — since coming to Pittsburgh in a six-player trade July 26 that sent outfielder Xavier Nady and reliever Damaso Marte to the New York Yankees. This masterpiece followed a 3-0 victory Friday over the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.

“It’s been a big change,” Karstens said. “I was pitching well in Triple-A and I felt like I wasn’t going to go anywhere.”

He said he found it funny to see a Yankees scout he knows in the stands behind home plate.

“But you know, they had to do what they had to do there,” Karstens said. “They’re doing something else here in Pittsburgh, where they’re trying to get younger and refocus and hopefully be like the Rays in a couple of years.”

The 25-year-old Karstens outpitched Randy Johnson, who tossed baseball’s most recent perfect game in May 2004. Karstens also got his first two major league hits off the five-time Cy Young Award winner and scored on Doug Mientkiewicz’s eighth-inning double.

He said that after catcher Raul Chavez gave him a hard time about getting tired late in the game he responded, “Hey, I’ve been running the bases.”

Karstens was in complete command with his four-pitch repertoire until Young’s liner for a clean double down the left-field line. He walked the leadoff batter in the ninth, then made a nice stab of pinch-hitter Tony Clark’s comebacker to start a double play.

After a single by Stephen Drew, Mientkiewicz smothered Orlando Hudson’s grounder to first before tossing to Karstens for the final out.

“I think their scouting report might have been a little bit different because I threw a lot more fastballs this time than I did in Wrigley,” Karstens said. “That might have benefited me.”

Late Tuesday

Brandon Webb became the first 16-game winner in the majors, tossing a nine-hitter for his third complete game in the Diamondbacks’ 3-1 victory over the Pirates.

Webb (16-4) carried a shutout into the ninth but surrendered a leadoff double to Freddie Sanchez and an RBI single to Doug Mientkiewicz. The Pirates put runners on second and third with one out before Webb struck out Brandon Moss and Jason Michaels to finish the game in an efficient 1 hour, 55 minutes.

Zach Duke (4-10) lost his fifth straight start despite one of his best outings of the season. He allowed two runs and a season-low four hits over seven innings.

Duke, who struck out six and walked one, is 0-6 in his last 10 starts. His last victory came against Arizona on June 9.