Zach Duke had another rough outing on Wednesday in his fifth loss of the season. Though he allowed only three earned runs, four overall, he allowed seven hits and two walks to the Yankees.In four of his last six outings Duke has permitted two or fewer earned runs, but he just doesn't miss enough bats to be consistent game to game making him a risk to blow up, in either direction, in almost every outing.

Duke pitches well and Pirates win late

Pirates' Duke earns fourth victory

Zach Duke allowed two runs over 7 2/3 innings to lead the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 5-2 victory over the Houston Astros on Wednesday night. Duke (3-4) gave up seven hits, struck out two and walked two. He was lifted after allowing a two-out walk to Miguel Tejada in the eighth. The only runs scored off Duke came via a solo homer from Ty Wigginton in the third and a RBI single from Carlos Lee in the sixth.

Duke throws 7 2/3 strong to lead Pirates