Duke named Pirates Opening Day starter

Pirates manager John Russell named Zach Duke the Opening Day starter following Tuesday's game with the Houston Astros.
Pittsburgh opens the regular season April 5 when they host the Los Angeles Dodgers.
It came down to Duke, Paul Maholm and Ross Ohlendorf, though Russell said the decision was based on the best way to set up the rotation.
"Realistically, you could've picked any one of the three - Ross had a great finish, Zach made an All-Star team, Paul is your consistent, steady starter," Russell said. "I talked to all three of them - it's not like an accolade or praise for one guy. It's how we wanted to set the rotation going into the season. We felt like it balanced our rotation, and put guys in the position where it felt like we were going to be more successful."
Duke, a lefty, went 11-16 last season, leading the National League in losses despite a respectable 4.06 ERA. He tied Ohlendorf for the team lead in wins and paced the Pirates in innings pitched (213), good enough for 12th in the NL.
He has a 5.40 ERA in three starts this spring.
The right-handed Ohlendorf will follow Duke in the rotation, with Maholm, another lefty, slated third. Charlie Morton will be fourth and Daniel McCutchen, who won the final rotation spot over Kevin Hart, will be fifth.
"What they've accomplished as a pitcher is what they did last year," Russell said. "Again, you can put all three of them in the position, and any one of the three could have done it...It kind of fell on Zach's day, and that's the way we wanted to do it."