Ivan Nova left today’s game against the Cincinnati Reds in the seventh inning with right calf discomfort according to the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Nova threw six shutout innings before allowing a lead-off homer to Jesse Winker in the seventh. The next batter doubled, then after retiring Joey Votto, Nova issued a one-out walk. After a visit from trainer Todd Tomczyk, Nova left the game.
Earlier in the day, it was reported that Starling Marte has been out of the lineup for the last two days due to multiple injuries suffered on a slide into third base on Wednesday. Adam Berry from MLB.com notes that Marte injured both his left shoulder and a finger on the slide.
It doesn’t sound serious, but there are only two weeks left in the season, the Pirates are about to be officially eliminated from both the division and wild card races (which could happen today with wins by Cubs and Rockies), and they have plenty of players on the bench who can fill his spot. So there is no reason to rush him back, which would also apply to Nova if he is questionable for his next start.
The Pirates lost today’s game 2-1 to the Reds. Andrew McCutchen hit his 26th homer. The loss dropped them to 68-81 with 13 games left in the season.