Originally published Thursday, August 7, 2008 at 12:00 AM

Pirates' Jeff Karstens perfect for 7-2/3 innings against Arizona

The recently acquired right-hander set down his first 23 batters before Chris Young's two-out double in the eighth inning and finished with a two-hitter Wednesday in a 2-0 victory over the Arizona Diamondbacks.

By The Associated Press

PHOENIX — Jeff Karstens has given the Pittsburgh Pirates a perfect start.

Almost a perfect game, too.

"We knew what he was capable of doing," Pirates manager John Russell said. "We had very good reports on him. The biggest thing is he throws strikes. That's a great asset for any pitcher."

Karstens (2-0) has tossed 15 scoreless innings — against a pair of first-place teams — since coming to Pittsburgh in a six-player trade July 26 that sent outfielder Xavier Nady and reliever Damaso Marte to the New York Yankees. This masterpiece followed a 3-0 victory Friday over the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field.

"It's been a big change," Karstens said. "I was pitching well in Class AAA and I felt like I wasn't going to go anywhere."

He said he found it funny to see a Yankees scout he knows in the stands behind home plate.

"But you know, they had to do what they had to do there," Karstens said. "They're doing something else here in Pittsburgh, where they're trying to get younger and refocus and hopefully be like the Rays in a couple of years."

The 25-year-old Karstens outpitched Randy Johnson, who tossed baseball's most recent perfect game in May 2004. Karstens also got his first two major-league hits off the five-time Cy Young Award winner and scored on Doug Mientkiewicz's eighth-inning double.

He said that after catcher Raul Chavez gave him a hard time about getting tired late in the game he responded, "Hey, I've been running the bases."

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