Pittsburgh Pirates Takeaways & Throwaways – Nova’s Debut

Ivan Nova avoids the free pass and limits the Cincinnati Reds to three runs to earn his first win with the Pittsburgh Pirates in his team debut.

The Pittsburgh Pirates offense backed up the Pirates latest acquisition with some timely hits from Josh Harrison, Andrew McCutchen, and Starling Marte to propel the team to a 5-3 win and series win over the Reds.

Takeaways:

• The box score doesn’t do it justice. Were it not for two home runs by Brandon Phillips, Ivan Nova would have been virtually untouchable in his Pirates’ debut after being acquired shortly before the 4pm non-waiver deadline on August 1. He threw 76 pitches over 7 innings. The most glaring statistic was the efficiency. Nova threw just 20 pitches that were called balls. He didn’t walk a single batter either.
• The top of the order combined for five hits and three RBI. Between Josh Harrison, Starling Marte, and Andrew McCutchen, only Marte struck out. The Pirates really benefitted from the trio being table-setters for the rest of the lineup.

Throwaways:

• It’s said that a player should never make the first or third out at third base. It should also be said that the first and second outs should not be made in the same play without the ball being put in play. John Jaso ran easily ran into the first one when Francisco Cervelli struck out in the second. It was clearly a designed hit and run attempt because the whole fan base now knows Jaso doesn’t run anywhere unless he’s told. When Matt Joyce struck out on a foul tip in the fourth inning, Marte was gunned down at third base. The situation was made worse when McCutchen wasn’t following Marte running from first. The Pirates have to avoid baserunning blunders if they hold on to any hopes of a playoff run.
• Ivan Nova giveth and Ivan Nova taketh away. He entered the night with 19 home runs allowed on the season. With two to an aging veteran not known for his power prowess, Nova officially has a serious problem. When he runs into more potent lineups, he will have to show an ability to keep the ball in the ballpark to be productive in what could be a brief stint with the Pirates.

W – Ivan Nova

L – Homer Bailey

S – Tony Watson

Line of the Night:

The line of the night goes to the man who exceeded even the loftiest of expectations in his Pirates’ debut. Ivan Nova deserves all of the praise he gets for a stellar performance tonight.

Up Next:

The Pirates (55-53) will wrap up their three game series with the Reds (44-65) on Sunday afternoon when the Bucs send Gerrit Cole (7-6, 2.73 ERA) to the mound opposite Dan Straily (6-6, 3.80 ERA). The Pirates will be looking for their first series sweep since May 24-26 against the Arizona Diamondbacks and first three-game winning streak since July 4-6 against the St. Louis Cardinals. Their last three game winning streak at PNC Park was on June 24-26. The Reds look to avoid being swept for the first time since July 8-10 against the Miami Marlins.