Nova stays unbeaten with Pirates in win vs. Reds
PITTSBURGH -- Ivan Nova stayed unbeaten with Pittsburgh by limiting Cincinnati to six hits in a complete game and manager Clint Hurdle got his 500th win with the Pirates during a 4-1 win over the Reds on Thursday night.
Nova was dominating at the start, giving up only one hit over the first five innings, as he improved to 5-0 with the Pirates since being dealt by the New York Yankees. The complete game was his second in his last four starts with the Pirates, as he beat the Houston Astros 7-1 on Aug. 24, and the fifth of his career.
Nova was 7-6 with the Yankees. He is the first Pirates pitcher since Dave LaPoint (4-0) in 1988 to go 4-0 or 5-0 in his first five games with the Pirates.
The Reds' only run in their ninth loss in 11 games came on Zack Cozart's RBI single in the sixth, which stopped Cozart's 0-for-14 streak. Nova threw 94 pitches, not walking any while striking out four.
Hurdle is the sixth Pirates manager to win at least 500 games with the club, joining Fred Clarke (1,472), Danny Murtaugh (1,115), Jim Leyland (851), Chuck Tanner (711) and Frankie Frisch (539).
The Pirates, already up 3-1, added their final run in the sixth on Josh Harrison's double and Andrew McCutchen's RBI single.
The Pirates, who ended an eight-game losing streak by beating St. Louis Cardinals 4-3 on Wednesday, jumped on Reds starter Dan Straily for three runs in a first inning in which Cincinnati's defense was shaky despite not committing an error.
Gregory Polanco singled with two out for the Pirates' second hit of the inning, after Josh Harrison doubled but was thrown out two batters later after getting caught off second on Andrew McCutchen's fielder's choice.
Jung Ho Kang, who homered in the eighth inning in Wednesday night's game, followed with a two-run double to center. After David Freese's infield single, Francisco Cervelli's single made it 3-0.
Reds center fielder Billy Hamilton might have run down Kang's double with his elite speed, but he sat out a fourth consecutive game with an oblique strain and didn't even make the trip to Pittsburgh.
The Reds, losers of eight of 10 coming in, didn't get anything resembling a hit off Nova until Adam Duvall beat out a grounder between third base and the mound as Nova's hurried throw to first was off line to start the fifth.
Duvall was initially given a hit, breaking up the no-hitter, but Brandon Phillips immediately grounded into a double play. Scott Schebler followed with a single, but Nova got out of the inning with no scoring.
After the half-inning ended, official scorer Tony Krizmanich changed Duvall's base hit to a throwing error by Nova.
Straily gave up three runs on seven hits, walking three and hitting two batters, while lasting five innings. He had gone 7-1 in his previous eight decisions.
NOTES: Reds OF Billy Hamilton (oblique strain) missed a fourth consecutive game on Thursday. He did not make the trip to Pittsburgh for the four-game series. ... The Pirates will skip rookie RHPs Jameson Taillon and Chad Kuhl the next time through the rotation to avoid building up their innings. Taillon, who did not pitch the last two seasons following Tommy John surgery, has tossed 149 2/3 innings in the majors and minors this season and Kuhl has pitched 134 1/3 frames. ... RHP Drew Hutchison will start Saturday in Kuhl's spot and RHP Gerrit Cole will come off the disabled list for the second time following the All-Star break to start Monday in Philadelphia. ... Pirates OF Josh Bell started in right field Thursday for the first time in his MLB career. LF Starling Marte remained out with back spasms, so Gregory Polanco started again in left field.