Oct 3, 2005 3 min read

PITTSBURGH (AP) – Zach Duke and the youthful Pittsburgh Pirates showed some promise in 26 games playing for Pete Mackanin, but it wasn’t enough for the interim manager to be considered for the job permanently. Pittsburgh general manager Dave Littlefield said that Mackanin will not be interviewed for the full-time job after Duke and the Pirates defeated the Milwaukee Brewers 3-1 on Sunday.

“Pete is not under consideration for the managerial job,” Littlefield said.

The Pirates finished 12-14 under Mackanin and won five of their final six games.

Mackanin, who took over for the fired Lloyd McClendon Sept. 6, left the clubhouse before Littlefield told reporters that the Pirates would be looking for a new manager.

“I think we showed a lot of potential,” Mackanin said. “There’s a young nucleus in place to pick and choose from.”

They finished the season 67-95 for their 13th straight losing season, the longest streak in the majors and one ahead of Detroit. The big league record is 16, set by the Philadelphia Phillies from 1933-48.

Duke (8-2) allowed one run and eight hits in seven innings to win his 20th game overall this season – he was 12-3 with Triple-A Indianapolis before his recall July 2.

“Duke does what we expected him to do every time out there,” Mackanin said. “He wasn’t as sharp as he has been, but he got some double plays when he needed them to get out of trouble and got some good defense behind him.”

All three Pittsburgh runs came on home runs in the fourth off Chris Capuano (18-12).

Craig Wilson hit a solo homer and rookie Nate McLouth had a two-run shot.

McLouth homered in three consecutive games earlier in the week.

Pirates left fielder Jason Bay received a standing ovation from the paid-attendance crowd of 23,008 at PNC Park when he was replaced by a pinch runner after ripping a sharp double down the left field line in the first inning.

Bay became the first Pirate to play in all 162 regular-season games since Johnny Ray in 1982, and became the first Pirate ever to hit over .300 (.306) with at least 40 doubles (44), 30 home runs (32), 100 RBIs (101), 100 runs scored (110) and 20 stolen bases (21) in a single season.

The Brewers lost their final two games of the season, yet still finished 81-81, their first non-losing season since going 92-70 in 1992.

Neither franchise has had a winning campaign since 1992 – the longest active streaks in the Majors. The Pirates also defeated Milwaukee on Saturday.

“We just kind of ran out of steam offensively these last two games,” Brewers manager Ned Yost said. “We ran into a couple good pitching performances.”

The Brewers loaded the bases in the first five pitches of the game with three singles, but got only one run after Geoff Jenkins grounded into a double play. It was one of three double plays Milwaukee hit into.

“The double play was my best friend today, as always,” Duke said.

The Brewers were 1-for-11 with runners in scoring position, getting a run when Brady Clark scored on Carlos Lee’s grounder. It was Lee’s team-high 114th RBI, but was all Duke gave up despite posting only one 1-2-3 inning.

Mike Gonzalez pitched 1 2-3 scoreless innings, and Salomon Torres struck out the final two batters for his third save.

NOTES: Pirates 2B Freddy Sanchez ended the season with a 17-game hitting streak, a career-high and the longest by a Pittsburgh player this season. … The Brewers won the season series, 9-7, going 4-4 at PNC Park…. The Pirates and Brewers will meet in the next regular-season game for both teams, April 3 in Milwaukee to open the 2006 season.