Volquez carries no-hitter momentum into silencing of old mates

Josh Harrison knew before Edinson Volquez stepped on the mound Thursday night at PNC Park that hits would be difficult to come by.

The confidence gained from throwing a no-hitter five days earlier can be difficult to defeat, and the Pirates knew how good Volquez can be.

Now the leader of the Marlins' rotation, Volquez reminded a few of his former teammates of just that, throwing seven scoreless innings, allowing three hits and striking out eight, as the Marlins defeated the Pirates 7-1.



"We knew coming into it, too, that he was going to have that confidence," Harrison told DKPittsburghSports.com. "A little momentum for him. I’m a big believer that the last don’t affect the next, but it carried over for him today."

Volquez needed just 98 pitches to throw a no-hitter against the Diamondbacks last Saturday, striking out 10, including three in the ninth inning, and walking two.

The Pirates watched the performance live, and Clint Hurdle said Volquez was having success using the same recipe that was so successful for him with the Pirates in 2014.

After he started 31 games for them that season, the Pirates declined to resign Volquez and he signed a $20 million, two-year contract with the Royals. He won 23 games in two seasons and joined the Marlins during the offseason after the death of Jose Fernandez, signing a two-year deal to reunite with former Pirates pitching guru Jim Benedict.

After starting this season 0-7, Volquez is looking like the same pitcher who was a key cog in the Royals' rotation for two seasons and had a 3.04 ERA with a 1.23 WHIP in his one season in Pittsburgh.

He has thrown 16 consecutive scoreless innings over his last two starts, and owns a 0.41 ERA with opponents batting .088 against him over his last three starts. The Pirates pitching staff, meanwhile, continues to struggle.

Gerrit Cole is now 3-6 with a 4.83 after allowing seven runs against the Marlins. Tyler Glasnow, who is scheduled to start Friday night, is 2-5 with a 6.97 ERA and Chad Kuhl has walked 24 batters with a 5.63 ERA in 12 starts.

Volquez's success is created using a simple approach of getting ahead in the count with his fastball.

Once ahead, Volquez has the confidence to throw his breaking pitches both in and out of the zone. He created weak contact throughout Thursday night, generating nine groundouts. The Pirates hit just two balls out of the infield between the first and sixth innings.

Harrison spoiled his bid for a second consecutive no-hitter with a bunt single in the first inning. The Pirates did not have another hit until Harrison doubled to lead off the sixth.

Volquez retired 13 consecutive batters from the second to the sixth inning, striking out at least one batter in each inning along the way. He did so with his off-speed pitches, placing his changeup outside the zone to make the Pirates chase.

"That’s what pitchers do; try to throw off your timing and if you can throw all your pitches for strikes and keep them off balance. That’s what he did," Harrison said.

Cole allowing three runs in the first inning did not help the Pirates' cause. The confidence gained from an early lead is critical for Volquez, Andrew McCutchen said. It allows him to throw his fastball early in the count.

He'd then throw breaking pitches to keep a hitter off balance. That's what happened to McCutchen in the first inning. After loading the bases by hitting John Jaso with two outs, Volquez struck out McCutchen looking on five pitches to end the threat.

McCutchen watched as a changeup was placed perfectly in the low inside corner. After issuing a lead off walk in the second, Volquez struck out Jordy Mercer looking on a sinker low and inside.

He was handed an easy out with a sacrifice bunt by Cole and got Adam Frazier to ground out to end the inning.

Those type of sequences did not surprise McCutchen. He's seen Volquez at his best and at his worst.

McCutchen was batting .353 against Volquez entering Thursday night, and has as thorough a scouting report as anyone after watching him pitch from center field in 2014.

"Honestly, you just try to catch him when he’s not too on," McCutchen said. "He picked up from his no-hit game and he just had command of all his pitches. ... When he’s able to do that it’s tough to get on base, tough to get a hit. I’ve been able to see him when he doesn’t do well and when he is on. When he’s on he’s hard to hit."