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Pirates’ Karstens almost perfect vs. D-Backs
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The D-Backs' Chris Young reacts after hitting a double that broke up a perfect game by Pirates pitcher Jeff Karstens in the eighth inning Wednesday at Chase Field in Phoenix.
Julio Jimenez, Tribune
The friends and family of Jeff Karstens sure are a tough bunch.
The young Pirates right-hander was fantastic on Wednesday, taking a perfect game into the eighth inning and finishing with a two-hit shutout as Pittsburgh blanked the Diamondbacks 2-0 at Chase Field.
But he wasn’t perfect.
“I look at my phone and there’s 20 texts and eight calls,” Karstens said. “A couple of them I already read, and they’re like, ‘You got the win, but what about the two hits?’ ”
Slideshow: D-Backs fall to Pirates
Karstens was four outs away from history, but Chris Young lined a 1-1 slider down the left-field line for a double in the eighth.
Through two games with his new club — he was traded from the Yankees in a six-player deal for Xavier Nady and Damaso Marte — Karstens is 2-0 and unscored upon in 15 innings.
It’s custom to stay away from a pitcher with a no-hitter, but it wasn’t the case this time.
“They couldn’t,” said Karstens, who scored on a double by Doug Mientkiewicz in the eighth inning. “I got a base hit and scored a run, so they had to talk to me.”
Karstens matched the Diamondbacks’ hit total, going 2-for-3 in the game, including his first major league hit in the third inning.
The Diamondbacks (59-55) had the tying run at the plate with no outs in the ninth after Augie Ojeda opened with a walk, but Tony Clark grounded into a double play. Stephen Drew singled before Orlando Hudson grounded out to end it.
Arizona hit multiple balls at or near the warning track in the early innings, but couldn’t break through.
“It was his day,” D-Backs catcher Chris Snyder said. “We hit balls to the wall, we hit balls hard. Everybody hit the ball hard. We were right on him.”
“Sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good,” Karstens said.
The last pitcher to throw a perfect game in the majors was Arizona’s Randy Johnson — on May 18, 2004, in Atlanta — and he had another fine outing, giving up two runs on seven hits in 7 1/3 innings of work.
On July 21, Cubs right-hander Rich Harden held a no-hitter through five innings in a duel against Johnson, which Arizona won 2-0. It’s been a theme throughout Big Unit’s career.
“Most of the games I’ve pitched, it’s not like I’m getting five or six runs scored for me,” Johnson said.
The loss keeps Johnson at 293 career wins.
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