Nova disappointed with the finish, but offense backs him in 9-4 win

ATLANTA — Ivan Nova came within two outs of throwing his sixth complete game in 21 starts with the Pirates, but a less-than-ideal finish to his Thursday afternoon agitated him.

"I can't let that happen," Nova said after he allowed three runs over the final two innings in the Pirates' 9-4 victory over the Braves at SunTrust Park.

Nova needed 100 pitches to get through 8 1/3 innings, allowing 10 hits and four earned runs with only one walk to earn him his fifth win of 2017.

But Nova expects more out of himself than just a win, especially when his offense erupted with 13 hits and spotted him a 7-0 lead. Not being on the mound for the final out does not meet the high standard he has for himself.



"Sometimes it's frustrating," he said. "I get to the ninth inning with that lead and I have to be able to finish them off. I didn’t make the pitches I was supposed to make that inning and the game almost got away from us."

That sentiment was not shared by Clint Hurdle, who made a concerted effort to allow Nova to finish the ninth inning. Nova's efficiency through eight innings, however, astounded his teammates and Hurdle even though it's becoming the norm for the right-hander.

He retired 19 hitters with three pitches or fewer, and had just one three-ball count — only his second of the season. Nova, who is now 5-3 with a 2.83 ERA, did not need more than 12 pitches to finish any inning until he got to the eighth. That is not unusual, as Nova ranks first in Major League Baseball by needing just 12.8 pitches per inning.

The Braves, who have one of the hottest offenses in the National League over the past month, had just three hits over the first six innings. It continued Nova's dominant start to the season. He showed little sign that he tweaked his left knee prior to the start, which forced him to miss his bullpen session and put his start in doubt.

He had thrown just 67 pitches through six innings before he allowed four runs on eight hits over the final three innings. Much of that success was the product of keeping his two-seam fastball low to induce 12 groundouts, including this inning-ending double play in the fourth after he allowed a one-run single:



"There’s an art to pitching, there’s no doubt about it," Hurdle said afterward. "He pitches. He adds, subtracts. He knows what he wants to do. He reads swings."

Hurdle turned to reliever Jhan Mariñez after Nova allowed an RBI single to Jace Peterson in the ninth inning, scoring the second run, and was visibly upset once he saw his chance to finish the game was over.

"He’s not going to get off the mound," Francisco Cervelli said. "This guy just likes to be on the mound. He’s waited so long to wait for this opportunity, and now he’s not going to miss it."

The Pirates' offensive outburst — scoring 18 runs over their final 11 innings of the series — made the sting worse for Nova. He said he thought he let them down by not doing his part, and nearly letting the win slip away: