CINCINNATI — Francisco Cervelli acknowledged Ivan Nova was far from top form Thursday afternoon, but he wanted to exonerate the pitcher of full responsibility for the Pirates' 4-2 loss to the Reds.
"He always is capable to keep the game close for us, and we don’t score runs," Cervelli said after the Pirates generated just seven hits. "We’ve got to hit, man. We’ve got to hit. We cannot put everything on Nova. This guy gave us six innings and we couldn’t score runs."
Nova allowed a season-high 10 hits and was far from efficient at rain-soaked Great American Ball Park, surrendering a pair of two-run innings — the first time since last August he allowed more than one run in any inning for the Pirates — but he still pitched six innings.
He got little help from his offense yet again.
The offense's disappearance has been a theme when Nova, who finished April with two complete games and only one walk in 36 innings, takes the mound. The Pirates, now 12-16 after losing three of four to the Reds, scored just 14 runs for Nova during his five starts in April.
He still won three of those games by striking out 22 and holding a 1.50 ERA, earning him the title of National League Pitcher of the Month. That dominance carried over to the first two innings against the Reds.
Nova needed just 35 pitches to get through the first three innings, mixing his four- and two-seam fastballs with a devastating curveball, including this one to Adam Duvall for a strikeout to lead off the second:
Holding a rare lead thanks to an RBI double by Gift Ngoepe in the second, Nova ran into trouble in the fourth. He got a two-strike count against Jose Peraza before Peraza singled to right. He then misfired a four-seam fastball to Joey Votto, and the former National League MVP sprayed the ball to the gap in left-center field for an RBI double.
He only faced one three-ball count and eight batters were retired in three pitches or less. Finishing was a problem.
"I think the whole problem was the command of my four-seamer," he explained afterward. "Tried to throw it straight, and the ball was cutting. It's hard. I think I threw really good sinkers today."
The trouble continued. Duvall pulled another four-seam fastball to left field to score Votto for a 2-1 lead.
Nova allowed five hits in the inning — the first time he had allowed five since his complete game loss to St. Louis on April 17 — but escaped with only allowing two runs. He struggled to hit his spots and his pitches weren't moving properly, as Clint Hurdle explained afterward:
