Pittsburgh Pirates Takeaways & Throwaways – Nova Nation

After every Pittsburgh Pirates game this season, we give you our Takeaways & Throwaways from the previous game.

The Pittsburgh Pirates took their first ever four-game sweep of the Brewers today with a 3-1 win. Ivan Nova shined as he is looking like a great pickup at the deadline for Neal Huntington, and the Pirates used the long ball on three separate occasions to score their runs. Now the team faces a tough three-game series in Chicago against the Cubs as they continue their push towards the playoffs.

Takeaways

• Ivan Nova continues to dominate as a Pirate. Today he went six innings and allowed just one run, while also striking out four and walking none. Nova has only walked one batter in his five starts as a Pirate. He’s generally a sinker-ball pitcher, so while he may not strike out a lot of batters, the fact that he doesn’t walk any guys makes up for that. Could Nova be the next J.A. Happ? We looked at that earlier today, and he could very well be lining himself up for a nice contract this off-season, whether it’s with Pittsburgh or elsewhere.
• Starling Marte had himself a nice day, notching three hits, including a solo home run to dead center and his 44th stolen base of the season. Marte’s had a down year power-wise this season, but he has the potential to be a 20-20 guy. He missed that mark by just one home run last season. His career batting average is even creeping up on Andrew McCutchen‘s. Marte is a true five-tool player and one of the most underrated players in all of baseball.
• The Pirates continue to inch closer to the second Wild Card spot, and they got a win on a day when the rest of the teams in that NL Wild Card race suffered. The Marlins, Mets, and Cardinals all lost, and the Giants were losing when the Pirates’ game ended. The Pirates now sit just a half-game back of the Cardinals for the second Wild Card spot. If the Giants lose, the Pirates will be just two games back of the first Wild Card spot. It’d be cool to see them host the Wild Card game for the fourth consecutive season.

Throwaways

• Nova left the game after six innings as it seemed like Clint Hurdle elected to go to the bullpen early to protect the lead they had taken. But it was revealed later that Nova also had hamstring discomfort. Hopefully the team was just being safe with Nova and it’s nothing serious.
• A few starters didn’t get a hit in the game, including Josh Harrison, Francisco Cervelli, and Jordy Mercer. The offense as a whole came back down to earth a bit after the nine-run performance the night before. But that really is just nitpicking a huge four-game sweep of the Brewers in Milwaukee.

Line of the Night

Nova had another great day, and the fact that he doesn’t walk guys is huge.

6.0 IP | 3 H | 1 R | 1 ER | 0 BB | 4 SO | 1 HR

Player of the Game

#RaiseIt The Pirates beat the Brewers 3-1 to sweep the series in Miller Park. Who is your player of the game?

— Jason Rollison (@jrollisonpgh) August 28, 2016

Next Up

The Pittsburgh Pirates face a tough task next when they visit the Chicago Cubs tomorrow night at 8:05 PM to start a three-game series. Steven Brault is expected to take Gerrit Cole‘s spot in the rotation, at least for this start, and he faces Cubs’ ace Jake Arrieta. Last time the Bucs faced Arrieta, however, they tagged him for six runs.

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