BRADENTON, Fla. -- Zach Duke will start the Pirates' Grapefruit League opener today against the Cincinnati Reds at McKechnie Field, and he will carry into the game a goal that will remain in place all spring and into the season:

Fewer hits.

No National League pitcher gave up more than his 255 last season, a total that contributed mightily to a 10-15 record. And the stage for that was set with an awful spring in which he was 0-4 with a 7.62 ERA.

"Aw, man ... there were so many times when I'd say to myself, 'That guy just did a good job hitting that pitch there. Next time, I'm going to get the break.' But those breaks seemed to keep going for the other team," Duke said. "The year before, I was 8-2 and, every time they hit the ball, hard or soft, it was straight at somebody. If that can just balance out, I'd be happy."

The statistics back Duke's case about fluky hits: He gave up 0.71 home runs per nine innings, third-lowest in the league and a clear sign that he was not getting hit hard. He also saw 33.6 percent of the balls put in play against him result in hits, seventh-highest in Major League Baseball.

Regardless, Duke wants to cut the total dramatically, and he thinks he has an answer.

"I need to improve my fastball control on the inner half of the plate to a righty," he said. "I need to get that back. I thrive on being able to do that, and I didn't last year. When they don't respect you having that part of the plate, that's when they get those little flares the other way."

Nady has colonoscopy

Outfielder Xavier Nady had a colonoscopy -- an internal examination of the large colon and small bowel -- yesterday at Allegheny General Hospital in another attempt to find the cause of his inflamed intestine. Pirates general manager Dave Littlefield said in mid-afternoon that no results were available, and the team had no further word as of late last night.

Nady is expected to rejoin the team today.

Game highlights

More from the Pirates' 8-1 rout of Manatee Community College:

Infielder Don Kelly, who played at Mt. Lebanon High School and Point Park College, went 2 for 2 with a double and two RBIs.

Kelly's brother-in-law, Neil Walker, had a two-run double and made a fine, charging play on a slow roller to third base. Kelly married Walker's sister, Carrie, over the winter.

Manatee sophomore Bennett Davis drew the cheer of the day for homering off Kip Bouknight in the sixth. The entire team awaited him at home plate. The previous time a Manatee player homered off the Pirates was three years ago against someone with the same first name: Kip Wells.

Buried treasure

The Pirates' other pitchers today: Tom Gorzelanny, Salomon Torres, Kevin Gryboski and Matt Capps. Eric Milton will start for the Reds.

Masumi Kuwata's pitching session to live hitters, shortly before the exhibition, went poorly. He was erratic to the point that most hitters simply watched his pitches sail by. When it was done, Kuwata and pitching coach Jim Colborn had a lengthy talk on the mound.

The Pirates and Reds have added a B-game to the schedule, 10 a.m. Sunday at Pirate City.

Walker and outfielder Andrew McCutchen, the Pirates' top two prospects, will have bobbleheads in their honor this season. The Class AA Altoona Curve, for whom they will open the season, will give them away April 21 (Walker) and May 18 (McCutchen).