'Weird' sixth costs Pirates yet another lead, first 5-0 start since 1983 taken at PNC Park (Courtesy of StepOutside.org)

Starling Marte all bundled up Wednesday night. - MATT SUNDAY / DKPS

With snow swirling through PNC Park, Twins left fielder Eddie Rosario hit a high pop fly a few feet in front of home plate in the sixth inning Wednesday night. Francisco Cervelli couldn't find the ball through the lights or snow. Neither could Josh Bell. It fell fair between them and Ivan Nova, and although it didn't lead to a hit, it was one of several mistakes that put an end to the Pirates' winning streak.

Gregory Polanco was thrown out at home plate in the fifth inning, and Nova and the bullpen allowed a combined four runs in the sixth, erasing the Pirates' second lead of the game in a 7-3 loss to the Twins. That kept the Pirates from starting a season 5-0 for the first time since 1983 and the sixth time in franchise history.

Although Nova chalked up the sixth inning to "bad luck," the finale of the two-game series was a microcosm of a few glaring issues with the Pirates at the start of the season.

"We had two leads," Clint Hurdle said.

The Pirates (4-1) have lost at least one lead in three of their five games, although this was the first time they were unable to regain it.

Nova gave up five runs in 5 1/3 innings, however, Dovydas Neverauskas and Josh Smoker allowed two hits with a walk after Nova was pulled with one out in the sixth.

TAP FOR BOXSCORE, STANDINGS, VIDEO

Nova has a 6.10 ERA through two starts, allowing seven earned runs on 11 hits in 10 1/3 innings with seven strikeouts and four walks. Unlike his start on opening day, Nova was efficient against the Tigers, throwing 50 of his 81 pitches for strikes and giving up only two hits in the first five innings.

But he hasn't pitched through the sixth inning in either start and twice he lost a lead.

"It was just one inning," Nova explained. "One inning." It was more than one inning, though. Brian Dozier hit a solo home run off Nova in the third and Miguel Sano scored after hitting a leadoff double in the fourth to tie it. The Twins had at least one extra-base hit in three consecutive innings against Nova, who needed 20 pitches to get through the third. He unraveled in the sixth inning, walking Dozier on six pitches before this happened:

Cervelli and Bell both watched as the ball dropped fair and although Bell was able to throw out Rosario at first base, Dozier advanced to third on the play.

"It was tough," Bell said. "Off the bat I saw it up and I looked at Cervi, I looked back up and couldn’t see anything, so I kind of just ran to the area. I thought the ball was 15 feet away from me coming down and that’s when I picked it up, and it was too late. Tough play. I guess it happens."

Nova said: "I don’t know, man. To be honest, I was focused on making my pitch. As soon as I see Cervelli kind of lost it I tried to run to help out but I couldn’t find it."

Sano, who went 3 for 5, then singled down the left field line to beat the Pirates' infield shift and tie the score. Logan Morrison followed with a double to right, hitting an elevated sinker to score Sano. Nova was then replaced by Neverauskas, who promptly allowed two doubles.

The Pirates' relievers now have a combined 1.66 WHIP — the fourth-highest mark in Major League Baseball — with a 5.82 ERA.

"We were underneath the game," Hurdle said of replacing Nova. "For me, it was a weird inning, and I didn’t see it getting any less weird. ... Trying to help some guys get some experience in some challenging situations. That’s the way we went. That’s the way I went with it. That didn’t work out well for us."

The Twins added a run off Tyler Glasnow in the seventh, and the Pirates had only one hit in the final four innings. But their offense was in position to pull away for a win. They scored two runs in the first on Josh Bell's 432-foot, two-run homer off the batter's eye and regained the lead with another run in the fourth with Colin Moran's RBI single.

But Polanco was thrown out at home after taking an awkward turn around third base following a single by Corey Dickerson, spoiling a potential bases-loaded opportunity for Cervelli. The Pirates have made a number of baserunning mistakes in the first week of the season, despite it being a point of emphasis in spring training.

The Pirates' .260 batting average is the fourth-best in the National League, and they're batting .296 with runners on base. Additionally, four players — Cervelli, Polanco, Starling Marte and Josh Harrison — rank within the top 10 in MLB in pitches per plate appearances.

The Twins' two starters this series — Jake Odorizzi and Lance Lynn — combined to walk nine batters and neither completed the fifth inning, but the Pirates continued a troubling trend of being unable to hang on to a lead.

"We’ve grinded through some tough days," Bell said.

Dovydas Neverauskas in the dugout after allowing a run in the sixth inning. - MATT SUNDAY / DKPS

1. Nova's falling short of expectations.

Nova's fastball command has not been consistent enough, which makes his changeup less effective. The Twins sat on his four-seam fastball and sinker in their second and third time through the order, pounding him for three runs in the sixth to take the lead. The Pirates need Nova to be the workhorse he was in 2016 and for the first half of last season. This bullpen is too much of a weakness for Hurdle to continue to turn to pitchers such as Neverauskas or Smoker.

Perhaps what Nova accomplished in the past was an anomaly and what we’re seeing now is the norm. If so, the Pirates will need the young starters to compensate. Nova, though, expressed confidence that this start was better than opening day, when he threw only four of his first 14 pitches for strikes.

"If you take out that last inning I think it was a good outing," Nova said. "It’s nothing that you want to do. You get the lead a couple times. I have to do a better job than I did in that last inning." 

2. Hey, maybe Glasnow can be OK in the bullpen.

Glasnow helped save the Pirates' bullpen. Yes, this situation is that dire. The club had a day off Tuesday, so everyone was available to pitch, but another short start could have made for a challenging weekend against the Reds. After all, Steven Brault is making a spot start, which forced the Pirates to recall Clay Holmes, who has yet to throw a pitch in the major leagues, as a second long reliever.

But Glasnow pitched the final three innings, allowing one run in the seventh when Rosario scored from first on a single by Sano. More important, 35 of his 55 pitches were strikes. He's now given up one run in five innings to start the season, striking out seven with four walks.

It's early and he's given up some hard contact, but this might be the first encouraging sign from him since he made his major league debut.

"I think the experience of last year, spring and this, a lot of it is getting confidence and getting comfortable up there," Glasnow said. "I felt good in spring, brought it into the season and I'm riding it right now."

3. Cervelli is so important behind the plate.

“I’m healthy, and it’s making such a difference,” Cervelli was telling me hours before first pitch. Oh, he said that with a grin, too. Throughout the offseason, Hurdle spoke repeatedly of how important a healthy Cervelli would be to the Pirates in 2018. Even I underestimated the manager’s statement. Cervelli is the club’s highest-paid player now, but he’ll provide a return on that investment if this continues. He has such an impact on this entire pitching staff, not only Nova. He spoke with confidence that his pitch-framing is much improved after playing through pain for more than an entire season. He’s also making an impact at the plate, too. Hurdle isn’t batting him sixth in the order simply to break up the left-handed bats. Cervelli is showing better plate discipline thus far.

He’s been more aggressive at the plate — swinging at more pitches both in and out of the strike zone — but he has walked three times in four games. Cervelli is averaging 4.65 pitches per plate appearances, which ranks third in the NL.

4. Molitor almost blew it.

Paul Molitor is a Hall of Famer and is regarded as one of the best managers in the American League after the Twins reached the playoffs last season. But he blew it in the fourth inning by not challenging Dickerson’s stolen base, as our Matt Sunday captured from field level:

The Twins' D.J. Dozier tags Corey Dickerson in the fourth. - MATT SUNDAY / DKPS

Dozier clearly applied the tag before Dickerson touched second base, but Molitor didn’t even budge in the dugout. Dickerson then advanced to third on a sacrifice fly and scored on Moran’s single, giving the Pirates a 3-2 lead.

Hey, managers screw up sometimes, but those mistakes can be magnified on a blustery cold night such as this.

5. This was a miserable night of baseball.

MLB has a scheduling problem. I understand there are a number of factors in building a 162-game schedule for each team, but there’s no reason why Detroit should host an opening series. Also, the Pirates should be one of a few teams to start the first two weeks on the road. The Cubs’ home opener isn’t until next Monday. Meanwhile, the Tigers have already had three games postponed.

There are a number of teams in southern states and ballparks with retractable roofs. Take advantage of them. The product on the field suffers when games are played with snow flurries and 23 mph winds, as evidenced by Cervelli losing the fly ball in the snow. The atmosphere in the ballpark is even worse. The announced tickets sold for this game was 20,690, although general lack of interest and a 6:05 start time are also to blame for that figure — which was far higher than those who braved the cold.

Fans don’t want to sit through this, and the problem isn’t limited to the Pirates or PNC Park. The Twins left Pittsburgh Wednesday night to go play their home opener on Thursday, where the game-time temperature is expected to be 15 degrees. Play ball!

MATT SUNDAY GALLERY

Pirates vs. Twins, PNC Park, April 4, 2018. - MATT SUNDAY / DKPS

Loading...
Loading...