CHICAGO — This was not how Ivan Nova wanted his season to end, standing in front of a group of reporters inside a quiet and crowded visitors clubhouse at Wrigley Field. Rather than celebrating a fine finish, he expressed frustration on how his command wasn't sharp in the Pirates' 7-6 loss to the Cubs in 10 innings Wednesday night.
The formula that had worked since he was last here back in June wasn't executed, and he received little help from those playing behind him. The right-hander lasted only four innings and was tagged for six runs, five earned, on eight hits. He could only watch from a television monitor as his teammates overcame the five-run deficit to force extra innings, a comeback capped by Starling Marte's two-run double in the top of the ninth.
The cancelation of a makeup game against the Marlins will cut Nova's season short at 29 starts, and he'll watch the Pirates, now 80-77, try to finish above .500. Yet, for as disappointing as this finish was, he left work Wednesday night with pride in how much was accomplished since he took the ball on opening day in Detroit back on March 30.
"I did what I wanted to do," Nova said afterwards. "On a lot of occasions, I did what I wanted to do. You always have to feel proud of the work that you have done."
Nova allowed a two-run homer to Jason Heyward in the first inning, as well as two runs in the third and fourth innings. His season ended with a 4.19 ERA over 161 innings with 114 strikeouts to 35 walks — a respectable season considering he missed one month and was terrible for another.
Nova will turn 32 in January and had 160 big league starts prior to this season, 118 for the Yankees. In New York, he had only made 25 starts in a season twice before being acquired by the Pirates in August 2016, and hadn't done so in four years. Despite his experience, The Yankees shuttled Nova back and forth between the rotation and bullpen.
He wasn't entirely effective in either role late in his tenure there, posting a 5.17 ERA in 17 starts in 2015 and 4.90 in 21 appearances the following season, only 15 of which were as a starter. Nova flourished upon arriving in Pittsburgh, posting a 1.09 WHIP in 11 starts to earn a three-year contract extension through 2019.
He returned to the club in 2017 and was named National League Pitcher of the Month for April, only to post a 5.83 ERA over 13 starts in the second half — the result of a nagging knee injury that prevented him from throwing his between-start bullpens. After a stern exit interview with Hurdle and Huntington, Nova lost 10 pounds this past offseason to better prepare himself to make 30-plus starts.
"I'm going to keep the same routine I did last year," Nova said after this start. "It really paid off for me. If it wasn't for that injury and that bad month, I think the season would have been a lot better. Maybe increase [the workouts] a little bit more. I feel really strong. No complaints other than that."
A finger injury almost spoiled all his work. Nova sprained his right index finger in his final start this April and attempted to pitch through the injury. The result was a 7.61 ERA over five starts in May. Finally, the injury forced him to the disabled list, however, he returned June 10 and has performed much like he did after the trade.
Nova's posted a 3.71 ERA with 67 strikeouts to 25 walks in 18 starts upon returning to the rotation. He missed only one start because of a death in the family and has provided the same consistency as his younger counterparts in the rotation. Health isn't the only reason for that rejuvenation. Nova's pitching in a way he never did prior to this season.
Nova's throwing more fastballs at the top of the zone, following the success of the rest of the Pirates' rotation. That has made those two-seam fastballs low in the zone more effective, as well as his curveball. Rather than pushing back when approached with the idea, Nova embraced the adjustment. After all, opponents were geared up to hit his pitches low in the zone.
"It’s been very refreshing because too many times in sport and in life men can be very, very stubborn and tradition can be a vision killer," Hurdle said. "I think Ivan got to a good place and started looking at some things and started realizing. Man, he’s used the elevated fastball this year. ... The pitching part of it, there’s no doubt he’s made some adjustments and has opened his mind up. That’s helped him continue to be good and actually be better in some areas than he’s been in the past."
Both his four-seam and two-seam fastballs have produced better results, including higher whiff rates and lower weighted on-base percentages. There have also been areas for concern. His first-pitch strike percentage has declined and opponents have a .884 OPS against him when ahead in the count 1-0. His ground-ball rate is also down and lefties have posted a .815 OPS against him.
The finger injury, a death in the family and the cancelled makeup game prevented him from making 30 starts, for which he would have received a $750,000 performance bonus. Still, he made a $9.167 million base salary this season and received $250,000 for making his 28th start Friday against the Brewers. He'll make $9.25 million next season.
Though the Pirates will shed payroll with the likely departures of Jordy Mercer and Josh Harrison, it's fair to wonder if they'll be willing to pay that much for a pitcher who will likely be their No. 5 starter. Chris Archer will make $7.5 million next season, while Jameson Taillon, Trevor Williams and Joe Musgrove will each make less than $1 million. Nick Kingham, who will make his 15th start of the season Friday in Cincinnati, is out of minor-league options, and the club's top prospect, Mitch Keller, will be major-league ready sometime in 2019. They also lost Chad Kuhl to Tommy John surgery.
Rather than spending in free agency, the Pirates could shop Nova to try to supplement their roster, perhaps in the outfield or bullpen, where they lost Edgar Santana to Tommy John surgery. Neal Huntington never discusses specifics when asked of his offseason strategy, however, he included Nova when lauding the rotation's efforts in this third consecutive non-playoff season.
"Starting pitching is what keeps you in games and gives you a chance to win games," Huntington said. "Our good runs have been fueled by starting pitching. When you’re not hitting, your starting pitching gives you a chance to stay in games. Trevor and Jameson certainly have been the anchors to the rotation this year. Trevor had a rough run. To have him bounce back and be as good as he’s been in the second half this season …. Jameson has really been steady. Between those guys and Nova (who) is throwing the ball well, and Chris Archer and who we have coming behind, we have the makings of a really strong rotation."
1. A rally worth watching.
This was the worst Nova's looked in nearly three months. He walked in a run with the bases loaded and threw first-pitch strikes to only 12 of the 22 batters he faced. The deficit was five by the time Tanner Anderson was called on in the fifth. However, five scoreless innings from the bullpen, including two from Anderson, kept the deficit there.
The Pirates chipped away with one run in the fifth on a solo homer by Corey Dickerson, and Elias Diaz hit a two-run single with the bases loaded in the eighth. Finally, Francisco Cervelli hit a one-out double to put two in scoring position in the ninth before Marte hit a ball off Anthony Rizzo's glove for a game-tying two-run double.
"Yeah, when he was on-deck we were talking about him finding a way to do something significant to drive in the tying run or the winning run. … It was a good at-bat for him, but we built it up even the two innings before then," Hurdle said of Marte.
Kyle Crick followed with a scoreless ninth inning, but Richard Rodriguez gave up the winning run in the 10th to give the Cubs, 92-66, the win. Still, the rally illustrated the improvements made by almost every player in the lineup. Jose Osuna had not homered in the majors since May 11, a span of 42 games, before hitting a solo shot in the top of the first, and Diaz's timing had been off since he returned from the disabled list on Sept. 18. Dickerson and Cervelli also made an impact yet again.
Osuna, Diaz and Kevin Newman each had two hits.
"We stayed hunting," Hurdle beamed. "We continued to play. Got some innings out of the bullpen to keep them at six. Kept taking our at-bats and tried making it easier for the guy hitting behind us. We did some nice things late."
2. Bullish on the infield defense?
Adam Frazier still has work to do this offseason. Yes, he's improved significantly at second base this month. Those incremental signs are on display every night and that was no different in this loss. He corralled a grounder up the middle in the fifth, stepped on second base and fired a throw over to first for an inning-ending double play.
The instincts have improved and so has the technique. But he's still making easy plays more difficult than they should be. He'll never be a Gold Glove candidate, however, there needs to be more consistency. He committed an error by booting a ground ball in the third and mishandled another that led to an infield single in the fourth. Newman hasn't looked sharp at shortstop, either, and Colin Moran will surely be given one more shot at third base, barring an unprecedented comeback by Jung Ho Kang.
The Pirates' strength in 2019 will have to be run prevention. Gregory Polanco will miss time, and you could argue they will have the worst offense in the Central Division. That means the pitching and defense must be among the best in the National League for this team to have a shot at the postseason.
"We could have fielded some balls better that helped it out a little bit," Hurdle said Wednesday night.
3. Playing without the 'A' lineup.
Neither Mercer nor Harrison are playing. Polanco is injured. David Freese is gone. Yet, the Pirates have won seven of their last 10 and eight of their last 12. They've gone 13-6 in their last 19 and 14-8 this month. That hasn't been enough to prevent them from being eliminated from postseason contention, however, they're doing a fine job muddling the Central Division race.
They've accomplished that while getting almost no production at shortstop and starting Pablo Reyes most games in right, despite the 25-year-old having never played that position before. Cervelli and Dickerson are hitting again. Josh Bell is getting on base to make up for his lack of power. With much of this roster likely returning next season, there is at least something to be gleaned from these final few weeks, Hurdle said.
"There’s probably not a team that fell out of contention that didn’t talk about finishing strong," Hurdle said. "There's a whole bunch of us in that category. Who can finish strong, how do you finish strong because we’re mixing and matching? If you look at the lineup we’re putting out there, we’ve had people shutdown, we’ve had people removed from the lineup. It’s not our 'A' lineup that we’re playing at the strongest point in time of the season. However, we’re playing very good baseball because we’re pitching it, we’re catching it and offensively some guys have stepped up. There’s been some consistency to our offensive game. That can help moving into next season. I believe that can help. It can’t hurt, I know that."