ivan nova tagged posts

The Pittsburgh Pirates have enjoyed playing spoiler this week against the Chicago Cubs.  But after taking the first pair of games this week at Wrigley Field, the Bucs fell behind early tonight, came back and tied the game in the ninth before losing 7-6 in ten innings.

Ivan Nova struggled for Pittsburgh tonight, giving up six runs (five earned) on eight hits in four innings of work.  Jose Quintana pitched for Chicago, giving up two runs on four hits in five innings.

The Pirates scored the game’s first run in the top of the first on a solo homerun by Jose Osuna.  A no doubt blast to deep left field, Osuna’s homerun gave the Pirates their first and only lead of the game.

Chicago answered in the bottom of the first inning when Jason Heyward hit a two-run homerun to make it 2-1...

Posted in Game Recaps & Reactions

The season may be winding down, but the Pittsburgh Pirates are playing like a team looking to make a playoff push.  Tuesday night made for another great pitching performance, with some clutch at bats as Pittsburgh would take down the Chicago Cubs by the final of 6-0.  The Pirates are keeping things interesting in the division by defeating the N.L. Central leaders for the second night in a row.

Chris Archer looked like the top of the rotation pitcher the team traded for during his six innings of work on the mound.  He would allow only four hits to go with nine strikeouts and two walks.  People have been critical of Archer, but if he pitches like this in 2019 the Buccos staff could be one of the best in the National League.

The offense got rolling in the second inning when Pablo Reyes hi...

Posted in Game Recaps & Reactions

After completing a sweep of the Kansas City Royals earlier in the week, the Pittsburgh Pirates took the field tonight at PNC Park looking to continue their strong play at home.  Unfortunately, the Bucs’ bullpen struggled tonight, as the Milwaukee Brewers scored six runs in the sixth inning and went on to a comfortable 8-3 victory.

Josh Bell’s solo homerun in the bottom of the first gave the Pirates an early 1-0 lead.  A two-out single by Ryan Braun in the top of the fourth tied the game, but Corey Dickerson blasted a two run homerun in the bottom of the inning to give them a 3-1 lead.

After a two hour 14 minute rain delay, the Brewers came back on the field on fire.  Jesus Guilar doubled home a run in the sixth inning, and scored on a two run homerun by Travis Shaw.  Mike Moustakas

Posted in Game Recaps & Reactions

With nothing much to play for other than attempting to finish the season over the .500 mark, the Pittsburgh Pirates are looking to play spoiler against the remaining contending teams on their schedule.  Tonight, they were able battle themselves through a stressful ninth inning to deliver a blow to the Milwaukee Brewers’ division title hopes with a 3-1 victory at Miller Park.

The Brewers, trailing by two runs entering the bottom of the ninth inning, put runners on first and second with no outs.  Felipe Vazquez then recorded a lineout, a flyout, and a strikeout to end the game.  After scoring in the first inning, the Brewers were unable to score in the final eight innings.

Ivan Nova started for the Pirates tonight, giving up one run on four hits in six innings.  Richard Rodriguez and K...

Posted in Game Recaps & Reactions

The Pittsburgh Pirates are playing a good brand of baseball on this six game homestand and that would continue today against the Miami Marlins.  Pittsburgh would use solid pitching and timely hitting to earn a 5-1 victory today at a damp PNC Park.

Ivan Nova was back on the mound today after missing his last start.  It looked like the extra rest did Nova some good during this outing.  He would finish the day pitching six innings allowing three hits to go with nine strikeouts and one walk.  Dovydas Neverauskas pitched a scoreless seventh with two strikeouts, before Nick Kingham would work the final two innings.  Kingham allowed one run on two hits with two strikeouts and two walks.

The lone Miami run came when Miguel Rojas scored on a wild pitch in the eighth inning...

Posted in Game Recaps & Reactions

It’s been an up and down season for the Pittsburgh Pirates.  Unfortunately here we are at crunch time of the year, and the downward spiral continued for this team following a 5-2 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on Tuesday night.

The Pirates are now four games under .500, an embarrassing 14 games out of first place in the N.L. Central division and 8.5 games out of the final Wild Card spot.  Things are bleak right now for Pittsburgh baseball fans – and no wonder.

Ivan Nova started for the Bucs on Tuesday, giving up four runs on six hits in just 3.2 innings of work.  His record fell to 7-9, raising his ERA to 4.35 on the season.  Steven Brault was effective in relief, giving up just two hits and striking out six batters in his 3.1 innings.

The Cardinals took an early lead on a two-run h...

Posted in Game Recaps & Reactions

The Pittsburgh Pirates offense has been downright dreadful as of late and that trend continued tonight in a 6-1 loss to the Atlanta Braves.  Pittsburgh would only tally five hits on the night and never looked like a threat to do any damage when the few opportunities arose.  The Pirates would collect another quality start, but a slipup from the bullpen really put this game out of reach.

Ivan Nova continued the recent trend of good starts from the rotation.  Tonight, he would throw six innings and allow two runs on four hits with four strikeouts.  Those two runs came off the bat of Dansby Swanson in the fifth inning on a two-run home run.  Michael Feliz was roughed up for three runs in the seventh inning on three hits and one walk.  Swanson would hit another two-run homer that inning...

Posted in Game Recaps & Reactions

Despite splitting a series over the weekend against the first place Chicago Cubs, the Pittsburgh Pirates are not playing their best baseball.  While the pitching has been tremendous lately, the offense has been non-existent.  Unfortunately, that trend continued for Pittsburgh tonight, as they lost yet another 1-0 game, this time to the Atlanta Braves.

Chris Archer started for Pittsburgh tonight, giving up one run on five hits with a walk and three strikeouts in four innings of work.  He would have lasted longer, but he was pulled after pitching the top of the fourth with left leg discomfort.  He appeared to injure his leg while at bat in the bottom of the third.  After pitching the top of the fourth, he was relieved by Steven Brault, who pitched two scoreless innings.

The Pirates offe...

Posted in Game Recaps & Reactions

The Pittsburgh Pirates entered tonight on a three-game losing streak and welcomed the Chicago Cubs to town for a four-game series.  Pittsburgh had played well against Chicago earlier in the season, but the Cubs have been getting the best of the Pirates as of late and that trend continued tonight when they defeated the Buccos 1-0.

Pitching is what dominated this game.  Pittsburgh sent Ivan Nova to the mound and he would work 6.2 innings.  He would allow one run on seven hits to go with three strikeouts.  That lone run was a solo home run from Ian Happ in the fourth inning.  Richard Rodriguez lasted 1.1 innings and would strikeout all four batters that he faced.  Felipe Vazquez worked the ninth and walked one batter, without allowing a run.

Chicago had Jon Lester start for them and he ...

Posted in Game Recaps & Reactions

Before embarking on their current road trip, the Pittsburgh Pirates were probably hearing rumblings from fans, media, and critics that this trip to Colorado, San Francisco, and Minnesota could very well make or break their season.  After all, they are on the outside looking in at both the N.L. Central Division and N.L. Wild Card playoff pictures, and a strong (or weak) showing on the road could determine just where the final month and a half of the season goes from here.

After taking two of three games against the Colorado Rockies, the Pirates opened their four game weekend series with a 10-5 victory over Andrew McCutchen and the San Francisco Giants at AT&T Park.

The Bucs tallied 13 hits as a team, and used two big innings to make this a comfortable win.  Adam Frazier led the way with t...

Posted in Game Recaps & Reactions