DETROIT — It appeared to be over until it wasn't. The Tigers sprinted out of the third-base dugout to mob JaCoby Jones as he rounded second base in celebration of a potential victory in the bottom of the 10th inning, only for video review to give the Pirates a second chance Friday afternoon.
The offense, charged by Gregory Polanco's towering 416-foot, three-run homer into the empty bleachers in right-center field in the 13th inning, took advantage of Tigers pitching and ended a wild and ugly opening day, helping the Pirates prevail with a 13-10 win to open the franchise's 132nd season -- a game that lasted more than five hours. Polanco's blast was one of the club's 17 hits, with eight of the nine starters reaching safely. However, a promising start for a new-look offense was nearly spoiled by what could be an insurmountable weakness.
The Pirates used seven of their eight relief pitchers, and the group combined to allow eight runs on eight hits, twice blowing a lead built by the offense. Also, Ivan Nova lasted only five innings, walking three because of poor fastball command.
"We have to be patient and keep working," Francisco Cervelli said. "Keep going after people and build something special there because there are a lot of young guys in the bullpen, but they can do the job. I believe in my guys."
Will the pitching improve, though? Nova, 31, is pitching atop the rotation and is the club's only starter with more than two full seasons in the major leagues. He averaged six innings pitched per game started last season — Gerrit Cole was the only other pitcher who averaged six or more — which was particularly important because of the struggles of the other three young starters.
The Pirates can't afford for Nova to falter. The line for his first career opening-day start wasn't ugly. The right-hander allowed only two earned runs with four strikeouts, but he was ineffective throughout. He failed to throw a strike until his seventh pitch, and only three of his first 13 pitches were strikes. Such a performance will make it difficult to accomplish the staff's goal of pitching deeper into games, thus preventing Clint Hurdle from having to exhaust his bullpen.
TAP ABOVE FOR BOXSCORE, STANDINGS, VIDEOTwice, the Tigers loaded the bases with no outs but failed to score. Nova threw 50 of his 84 pitches for strikes before being pulled following the fifth inning. "I couldn’t throw a strike at all," he explained. "Trying to get back in the strike zone was hard for me in the first couple of at-bats. I stayed in attack mode until I could find it."
Still, he walked off the mound with a two-run lead, thanks to Francisco Cervelli's two-run double in the fourth. Cervelli was one of six Pirates to have two or more hits and one of three to drive in at least three runs. Then, Michael Feliz, a reliever acquired in the Gerrit Cole trade, allowed four runs in the seventh inning, failing to retire any of the four batters he faced.
Like the rotation, the Pirates are relying on a young bullpen that includes only two pitchers with more than two full seasons of major league experience: George Kontos and Felipe Rivero, who had a 0.88 WHIP last season. Despite Feliz's meltdown, the Pirates entered the bottom of the ninth with a four-run lead after scoring four runs in the top of the inning.
It was a non-save situation, but Rivero needed 30 pitches to get only two outs, walking three batters and throwing only 13 strikes. He allowed three earned runs while on the mound and was credited with another because Josh Smoker, a left-hander acquired from the Mets in January, gave up an RBI double to the first batter he faced.
"I don’t know what was wrong," Rivero said. "I prefer to have those days now than later. But I still don't want to show emotions. With the young guys we have, I don't want to show them I'm mad. I stayed there with a regular face, even though I kept messing up. We have to do that with these young guys. We have to be better. We will be."
It appeared the Tigers ended the game in the 10th with Jones' single to left off Smoker, but the 3-minute, 41-second video review showed Corey Dickerson's throw home and Cervelli's tag got Nicholas Castellanos out to end the inning.
Then, the offense got back to work.
Finally, it all ended when Polanco ripped a high two-seam fastball into the bleachers for a three-run lead in the 13th inning, giving Steven Brault enough of a cushion for the opening-day win. Both Dickerson and Josh Bell expressed relief and disbelief after what occurred. But they also spoke of how excited they were about the potential of this offense.
"This is an example of what we can do as a group," Bell said. "One through nine, it was a really good effort."
The Pirates' offense gave its pitching staff the third-lowest run support in the majors last season and ranked near the bottom in nearly every offensive category. Friday, they showed promise without Andrew McCutchen. Polanco drove in four runs, while Bell and Cervelli both had three RBIs.
They forced the Tigers to also use seven pitchers, and that group threw a combined 214 pitches. A mention of that performance brought a smile to Nova's face inside the visitors' clubhouse. It made Rivero feel better about what occurred to him on the mound, too. The offense wants to continue to lift the pitching on days such as this, but the goal for this team, and every other playoff contender, is to be effective both on the mound and at the plate.
The Pirates have struggled in both facets too often during their two consecutive non-playoff years, but they insist change is on the horizon.
"We fight as a family," Polanco said. "We fight as a team. We've got to fight every pitch, every at-bat, every inning and you see what happens."
1. Polanco looks healthy but remains flawed.
The swing is back. That much was evident on opening day. Polanco pulled an outside four-seam fastball from lefty Daniel Stumpf to right field for an RBI double in the eighth inning and added the home run — his first since last September. He reached safely in four of his six plate appearances, going 3 for 5 with a hit-by-pitch.
"We need to have a lineup that can be lengthened up," Hurdle said. "We scored all the way through the lineup today. … We were able to build innings, good at-bats. ... We believe it’s going to pay dividends for us as we continue to play. Thirteen runs is a hefty amount for us."
On the other hand, Polanco froze when a fly ball was hit to him in the seventh and made an egregious base-running mistake in the eighth by running on contact from third base with only one out.
Dickerson lined out to short, and Polanco was promptly doubled up to end the inning.
2. Nova will be OK.
For all of Nova's struggles, he still gave the Pirates a chance to win. You'll rarely see him miss with his four-seam and two-seam fastballs the way he did against the Tigers. He has his fair share of faults, but fastball command is not one of them. In addition to the poor fastball command, Nova didn't get a good feel for either of his breaking pitches until the second inning when he struck out Miguel Cabrera with three consecutive changeups.
Nova isn't complacent. He showed that by losing 10 pounds this offseason and again by insisting on throwing the changeup more effectively to a hitter such as Cabrera. This was one of the worst outings of his time in Pittsburgh, but he still managed to get outs in critical situations, forcing the Tigers to strand six, including one in every inning but the fourth.
3. The Pirates used their mound visits wisely.
Cervelli was frustrated when Major League Baseball announced a new limit on mound visits, but both he and Ray Searage utilized them to help Nova through trouble. The Pirates used three of their six non-pitching change visits with Nova on the mound, and the right-handed starter recorded three consecutive outs after each visit.
The Tigers had the bases loaded with no outs in the first, and Nova responded with a pair of strikeouts and a liner to first. He then recorded three consecutive outs after the Tigers' three consecutive doubles in the second. Nova got a fly out and a double play to end the fifth after allowing a walk and back-to-back singles.
"I don’t want him to go to the mound," Nova said. "I don’t want to see him. Just put the sign. If I don't feel comfortable or something I’ll shake. I don’t want to see Cervelli to come to the mound to talk to me because it’s not fun. The good thing is he knows me, and he doesn't do it in a bad way. He does it in a good way, but at the same time, I don’t like it."
4. Moran has work to do at third base.
Hurdle called Moran, who was acquired from the Astros in the Cole trade, a dependable defender this spring, saying the 25-year-old showed he was capable of making the plays required of an everyday third baseman. Moran didn't show that potential against the Tigers, though.
Messy footwork prevented Moran from getting over to the third-base line in the second inning, allowing Mikie Mahtook's ball to reach the outfield for a leadoff double. It only got worse for Moran, too. Castellanos hit a routine one-hopper right to him, but the ball skipped under Moran's glove for an error to lead off the third.
Moran was viewed as an average-to-below-average defender before the Pirates acquired him in January. In fact, some analysts predicted he eventually would have to move to first base, despite the fact Moran played third in 394 of his 425 games in the minors. Of course, the Pirates already have one too many first basemen in their system, and they're choosing to play the once-top prospect with only 16 games of major-league experience over a National League Gold Glove finalist.
If Moran is going to stick, he'll need to get better with the glove.
5. Frazier shows his worth atop the order.
Yes, three strikeouts is underwhelming, but Adam Frazier showed why he's a capable leadoff hitter. Jordan Zimmermann tried to throw inside to left-handed hitters and stayed outside to righties — home-plate umpire Mike Everitt's strike zone helped that strategy — and Frazier fought off a pair of inside pitches to left field, doubling in the first and hitting a leadoff single in the eighth.
Frazier, who was the designated hitter, won't be an everyday player once the Pirates shift back to National League rules, but he proved yet again the difference he can make for this lineup.
"It seems like, especially when you’re leading off with Frazier, you’re not giving away outs," Bell said. "Tough at-bats. Grinding with some walks. One though nine, there was a really good effort."
MATT SUNDAY GALLERY