PITTSBURGH _ On nights when right-hander Ivan Nova is on the pitcher's mound for the Pirates, there is an eye on the clock and another on the pitch count. When Nova is locked in a pitchers' duel, as he was Tuesday against Arizona Diamondbacks left-hander Robbie Ray, there barely is enough time to wolf down a sandwich or polish off cotton candy before the ballgame breathes its last gasps.
In a 3-0 defeat at PNC Park, Nova went from cruise control to a standstill in the seventh as around him traffic thickened. A gem of a start was tarnished as the Diamondbacks scored two runs, their only crooked number of the game, and forced Nova to throw 26 pitches in the inning.
Nova was charged with three earned runs on 78 pitches over seven innings. He allowed six hits.
The Pirates offense was clueless against Ray, who tossed a shutout on 115 pitches. They had four hits _ three singles, including Nova's first base hit this season, and a double _ no walks and 10 strikeouts.
Ray entered the game with an 0.81 ERA in five road starts this season, the best road ERA among qualified National League starters, and third-best in the majors.
Ray carried a no-hit bid into the fourth inning before Josh Harrison reached on a wacky double. His high fly ball somehow fooled center fielder Rey Fuentes, who charged toward the infield, only to realize the ball was landing about 30 feet behind him, near his original position. Harrison, however, was stranded at third after a groundout and back-to-back strikeouts ended the inning.
Nova's no-hit campaign ended abruptly and harmlessly in the fifth. Jake Lamb roped a leadoff single to center field, then was erased on Brandon Drury's inning-ending double play. Nova's pitch counts over the first five innings were as follows: six, nine, eight, eight and seven.
The Diamondbacks disrupted the deadlock in the sixth. After Fuentes singled with one out, making amends for his earlier misplay, he moved into scoring position on a sacrifice bunt and scored when leadoff hitter Chris Owings ripped a two-out double to the left-center notch.
While Ray motored, facing one more than the minimum through seven innings, Nova stumbled in the seventh.
Paul Goldschmidt led off the inning with a high fly ball which bounced off the top of the Clemente Wall and bounced back into play. After a crew-chief review, the hit was ruled a double, not a home run. The delay lasted two minutes, 21 seconds _ an eternity in this speedy game.
Lamb recorded his second base hit. Drury, the double-play victim in the fifth, bounced a one-out grounder into the hole that went for an RBI infield single. Chris Herrmann walked, Nova's only free pass of the night, and the bases were loaded for Fuentes. His ground ball to second base was placed so that Gift Ngoepe's only option was to throw to first base, allowing a run to score.
