Nationals select contracts of pitchers Garcia, Duke from Triple-A Syracuse

The Washington Nationals today selected right-handed pitcher Christian Garcia and left-handed pitcher Zach Duke from Syracuse of the Triple-A International League. Additionally, the Nationals transferred right-handed pitcher Henry Rodriguez to the 60-Day Disabled List. Nationals Executive Vice President of Baseball Operations and General Manager Mike Rizzo made the announcements. Garcia converted all 21 save opportunities with a 2-1 mark and 0.86 ERA in 45 relief appearances this season with Syracuse and Double-A Harrisburg. In 27 appearances with the Chiefs, Garcia went 1-1 with 14 saves, a 0.56 ERA and 38 strikeouts in 32.1 innings pitched. The 27-year-old Garcia went 22-20 with 22 saves and a 3.22 ERA in 124 games/56 starts during seven seasons in the minor leagues, posting 10.1 strikeouts per 9.0 innings (414 K/369.0 IP) during that stretch. Duke went 15-5 with a 3.51 ERA in 26 starts this season with Syracuse. His 15 wins lead all International League pitchers and match the highest single-season win total by a Nationals farmhand (Brad Peacock, 15 wins for Syracuse in 2011). The 29-year-old went 4-0 with a 2.16 ERA over his final six starts with the Chiefs, posting 29 strikeouts and just five walks in 41.2 innings pitched. In seven big league seasons, Duke is 48-74 with a 4.56 ERA in 181 games/168 starts with Pittsburgh (2005-10) and Arizona (2011). In 2009, he won a career-high 11 games and represented the Pirates at the All-Star Game in St. Louis.