"Even with a win today, the Pirates will fall one short of a .500 home record. Not Zach Duke, who, by earning a win in the Pirates' 6-4 defeat of Houston in his final home start of the season, improved to 31-31 in 81 career starts at PNC Park.

"He wasn't real sharp but he found a way to get out of some jams," Pirates manager John Russell said. "He located when he needed to. It could have gotten away from him a couple times but he found a way to get out of it, his last one here at home. I was happy for him that he got through it."

Duke's 31 wins are the most in the ballpark by any pitcher.

"It's always been a pretty friendly ballpark to me," he said.

"The fans have been great to me here, ever since I first came up in 2005 they've really embraced me."

Duke (8-14) allowed three runs on seven hits in six-plus innings. Except for the second and fourth, when the Astros scored their runs off him, Duke faced just one batter over the minimum in the four other innings he completed.

"The curveball was my go-to pitch," he said.

The Astros scored one in the second, and Humberto Quintero's two-run double tied the score at 3-3 in the fourth. Quintero drove in Chris Johnson and Tommy Manzella, who singled and doubled, with a double down the third-base line.

"I wasn't able to get the curveball down like I wanted to, I left a couple fastballs up," Duke said of the fourth.

Duke has allowed three earned runs in his past two starts and gone at least six innings in both.

"I feel pretty good on the mound right now," he said. "I feel back where I want to be."

The offense backed Duke and he left in the seventh with a 5-3 lead. Andrew McCutchen and Jose Tabata played a large role in that offense.

Twice Tabata faced the same situation. In the third, McCutchen on second, none out. Tabata had hit safely in all seven games of the homestand. In those seven games he hit .400 with six RBIs, but Saturday, he bunted and popped out to Quintero."