By no measures were the 2005 Pittsburgh Pirates a good baseball team. They owned a 67-95 record on their way to finishing last in the National League Central. However, late in the season a young starting pitcher appeared to be emerging as a potential future ace. This pitcher was lefty Zach Duke.
The young Texan made his MLB debut with the Pittsburgh Pirates on July 2, 2005, and it did not take Duke long to impress. In his first MLB start, he struck out nine Milwaukee Brewer hitters. This was the most strikeouts by a Pirate pitcher in their MLB debut since Tim Wakefield in 1992.