Rare meeting for Pirates and Orioles

The game tonight between Pittsburgh and Baltimore marks the first time in 17 years that the Pirates and Orioles are meeting at McKechnie Field.

In fact, the two teams have not met in Florida since March 20, 1993 when they faced each other in St. Petersburg, the former spring training home of the Orioles.

Zach Duke, the Pirates starter against the Orioles, led the Pittsburgh staff in innings pitched last year with 213 and ranked third in the league with three complete games. He was one of the league’s hard luck pitchers getting only 23 runs in his 16 losses.