Saturday afternoon, Diamondbacks starter Zach Duke took a batted ball comebacker off his pitching hand. Duke was initially optimistic and the trainers didn't feel that anything was broken, but then x-rays revealed that Duke actually had two broken bones. The result? Duke won't throw for about four weeks, and is expected to miss the next 6-8 weeks of action.
Zach Duke Has Broken Hand, May Miss Two Months With Injury
Duke was part of a competition at the back of the starting rotation. Daniel Hudson, Ian Kennedy, and Joe Saunders are locked in. The final two spots, at least for the time being, will come down to Barry Enright, Armando Galarraga and Aaron Heilman. General manager Kevin Towers has said that he will not go outside the organization looking for help in response to Duke's injury.
It’s bad luck for the 27-year-old Duke, who signed with the Diamondbacks over the winter looking to bounce back from a disappointing stretch in Pittsburgh. After shining early in his career, Duke’s ERA rose all the way to 5.72 last season, and he was hoping that a change of scenery might get him back to where he was. It still may, but now he’ll have to wait a while to find out.
For more on Duke and the Diamondbacks, check out AZ Snakepit.
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