PITTSBURGH _ Manager Clint Hurdle tried something new. In a nearly identical scenario to the Friday's game, Hurdle on Saturday deployed left-hander Felipe Rivero midway through the eighth inning, rather than at its start, and let him close out the Pirates' 4-3 win with a five-out save.
On Friday, Rivero entered in the eighth to face the top of the Chicago Cubs lineup. He did his job, but those behind him did not. On Saturday, Hurdle used right-hander Daniel Hudson to start the eighth and brought in Rivero with one out and a runner on second base. Rivero walked Kris Bryant, then mowed through the next five hitters for his third save.
For the Pirates (31-37), Gregory Polanco broke out of an 0-for-12 slump with a home run, double and walk. Andrew McCutchen hit a seventh-inning solo homer, which was the deciding run.
Right-hander Ivan Nova was charged with three runs in seven innings, allowing six hits and two walks. On the other side, right-hander Jake Arrieta, who had 8.61 ERA in his previous four starts against the Pirates, gave up three runs, two earned, in 42/3 innings, striking out seven.
Nova has given the Pirates remarkable consistency since arriving in a trade-deadline deal last July. He has pitched at least six innings in each of his 14 starts this season. The previous Pirates pitcher to match the streak was right-hander Eddie Solomon in 1981.
"You're looking for anchors within your rotation that can get three times through the lineup," manager Clint Hurdle said before the game. "You get through the lineup three times, it's pretty well going to put you in the sixth, seventh, eighth inning. You do the math; it all makes sense."
Innings-eaters limit wear and tear in the bullpen, Hurdle said. He handed out more math homework: "If you're pitching three innings-plus out of the bullpen every night, you've got 162 games. Look at teams that find championship seasons and how many innings their bullpen pitches and how many their rotation pitches, start breaking it down and paring it down ..."
Hurdle went on, but the idea is anchors atop the rotation allow for more wiggle room for younger starters in the fourth- and fifth-starter spots. Last season, for a host of reasons, the Pirates starters offered little length. Their innings leader was left-hander Jeff Locke, who turned in 1271/3 innings and left the rotation in August. Nova already is at 96 innings this season.
Backed by Polanco's two-run home run in the first inning, Nova worked quickly over the first few innings and helped his cause with a double play in the first inning and a pickoff in the third. Through four frames, he used 46 pitches. In the fifth, however, Nova walked Kyle Schwarber and Arrieta pounded a two-strike, two-out fastball to left field for his fifth career home run.
Arrieta's control abandoned him in the fifth. After Jordy Mercer's leadoff double, the remainder of the inning included two wild pitches, a single, an intentional walk, a hit by pitch and a run scored. The damage could have been worse, but center fielder Ian Happ made a diving catch on Josh Bell's two-out, bases loaded fly ball off reliever Brian Duensing.
McCutchen's solo home run in the seventh put the Pirates ahead 4-2, and Addison Russell responded with a solo shot to left. Nova appeared to be on the ropes after he started 3-0 on pinch-hitter Jon Jay with a man on third and two outs in the seventh. Three strikes later, Nova pumped his fists and roared, and then tipped his cap to the standing ovation at PNC Park.
