ivan nova tagged posts

After playing terrible baseball for the past month, the Pittsburgh Pirates were in desperate need of a strong home stand.  So far, so good.  The Bucs won their third consecutive game, and second straight over the Cincinnati Reds, with a 6-2 victory this afternoon at PNC Park.

Pittsburgh used a three-run sixth inning to break open what was once a close game.  Ivan Nova started for the Bucs, giving up one run on five hits in six innings of work.  Steven Brault and Michael Feliz finished off the Reds over the final three innings to secure the victory.

Starling Marte’s groundout scored Josh Harrison in the bottom of the first inning to give the Pirates an early 1-0 lead.  A solo homerun by Eugenio Suarez in the second tied the game.

Solo homeruns by Colin Moran and Elias Diaz in the thi...

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It has been well documented on how rough things have been for the Pittsburgh Pirates for the past few weeks.  Today felt like the first time in a long time that they played a near perfect game as a team.  I say near perfect, because the defense committed two errors on the day.  A strong pitching performance by Ivan Nova and the bullpen, along with some clutch hits, gave Pittsburgh a much-needed victory over the Chicago Cubs.

Nova made his first start since coming off the DL with a finger injury.  He would pitch 5.2 innings allowing one run on four hits with eight strikeouts and two walks.  More outings from Nova like this is exactly what the Pirates need if they want to get back in playoff contention.

The bullpen was lights out today.  Edgar Santana worked 1...

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The Pittsburgh Pirates and Chicago Cubs are heading in opposite directions…fast.  After a 3-1 victory yesterday at Wrigley Field, the Cubs continued their red-hot play with a 2-0 win over the lifeless Bucs.  Jon Lester was dominant and the Cubs offense did enough to cruise to a fourth straight win.

The Pirates have now lost 16 of their last 21 games and, yes, today’s loss clinched their seventh straight series defeat.  They are in a freefall right now and there doesn’t seem to be any end in sight.

Over the past few years, Lester has struggled against the Pirates.  But today, he was in complete control, giving up just one hit and two walks while striking out five in seven innings.  He improved his record to 7-2 and lowered his ERA to 2.22 for the season.

Nick Kingham fell to 2-3 ...

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The Pittsburgh Pirates were looking to take two out of three from the Cincinnati Reds this afternoon.  The two teams combined to hit four home runs and, in the end, Cincinnati would bring home one more run in a 5-4 victory over Pittsburgh.  The loss would be the Pirates fifth in six games and first time since mid-April that they have lost back to back series.

Zeros were put on the board through the fist two and a half innings today, but the Reds would put a four spot on the board in the bottom of the third.  Ivan Nova would walk the first batter of the inning and then give up a single to right.  With one out, Nova would commit a throwing error that would load the bases for Eugenio Suarez and he would clear the bases with a grand slam to left field...

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The Pittsburgh Pirates have been on quite the roll lately and most of that is due to their offense.  Tonight, would be the first time in awhile that the offense could not muster that one clutch hit to put the team in the lead for good.  The San Diego Padres would take advantage of that and go on to win 3-2, to even this four-game series at one game apiece.

Pittsburgh would jump out to an early lead in the first inning when Josh Bell hit an RBI double to left field to score Adam Frazier.  They would then double that lead in the third on a Corey Dickerson single to left center field.  That would be the final run they scored on the night.  They would have chances though, as they would leave a total of 13 men on base.

Ivan Nova worked six innings tonight and allowed three runs, two earned...

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The Pittsburgh Pirates continue to find ways to win baseball games.  Tonight, they opened up a four game series with the San Diego Padres at PNC Park.  The two teams traded blows back and forth throughout, but the Bucs scored the game’s winning run in the bottom of the seventh and the bullpen shut the door in the final two innings to secure a 5-4 victory.

The Pirates are now nine games over .500 (26-17) and have won eight of their last nine games to climb to first place in the N.L. Central.

Chad Kuhl started for Pittsburgh and struggled his way through 4.1 innings, giving up four runs on six hits.  Steven Brault pitched 2.1 innings, while Edgar Santana earned his second consecutive victory.  Felipe Vazquez tallied his 9^th save of the season with a one-two-three ninth inning.

After fa...

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All good things must come to an end and that was the case this Mother’s Day for the Pittsburgh Pirates.  After winning their previous five games, they would lose the finale of this three-game series with the San Francisco Giants today 5-0.  One bad inning of pitching, along with an offense that could not muster that one key hit was the reason for the defeat.

Ivan Nova would work 5.2 innings today and was cruising for the first five.  In the sixth though he had a rough go of it that resulted in four runs being charged to him.  Gorky’s Hernandez got things started with a solo home run to left centerfield.  Brandon Crawford was able to plate a run with a double to left centerfield.  Nova would leave with two runners on base and did not walk a batter, while striking out two.

Richard ...

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After an extensive rain delay, the San Francisco Giants and Pittsburgh Pirates took the field at PNC Park for the second game of their three game weekend series.  While Friday’s game was a lopsided victory for Pittsburgh, tonight’s matchup was much more competitive.  It was a back and forth game throughout the evening, but the Pirates scored the winning run in the bottom of the eighth on a hit-by-pitch to beat the Giants 6-5 for their fifth straight win.

Chad Kuhl started for Pittsburgh tonight, battling his way through six innings of work.  He gave up three runs on six hits with six strikeouts and four walks.

The Pirates took the lead in the first inning.  After Gregory Polanco drew a walk and Starling Marte singled, Josh Bell hit a sacrifice fly to center field to score the game’...

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Interleague play has been kind to the Pittsburgh Pirates so far in 2018.  Tonight, they would begin a short two game series on the road against the Chicago White Sox.  Pittsburgh entered the game four games over .500 against the junior circuit, and with the woes of Chicago’s play so far this year, they had a good chance to improve on that mark.

Early on it did not look like the Pirates would have much of a chance at victory. Ivan Nova was hit early and often in this contest.  He would give up four runs in the first and one in the second.  Nova was lifted after only pitching two innings where he gave up five runs on six hits with two walks and two strikeouts.  Nova has been up and down so far this year, so hopefully his next outing is a good one.

The Buccos offense would quickly get ...

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It was more of the same tonight for the Pittsburgh Pirates.  After getting blown out once again tonight by the Washington Nationals, the Bucs are in danger of being swept in consecutive four game series against N.L. East opponents.  The Nats’ offense stayed red hot tonight and the Bucs couldn’t keep them off the scoreboard, losing their third straight game, 9-3.

Ivan Nova was the latest victim of the Nationals offense, giving up eight runs (five earned) on eleven hits in 4.2 innings.  His mound opponent, Stephen Strasburg, got off to a sluggish start, but found his groove.  He gave up three runs (two earned) on seven hits with 11 strikeouts in seven innings.

The Pirates offense gave Nova the lead in the top of the first inning on Corey Dickerson’s ground ball that scored Gregory ...

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