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Live Discussion: Phillies 2, Pirates 1

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PHILADELPHIA — Ivan Nova will take the hill for the Pirates as they attempt to even their four-game series with the Philadelphia Phillies on Friday night.

If the Pirates have an ace in their five-man rotation, it’s probably 26-year-old Jameson Taillon, who has a 2.86 ERA, 21 strikeouts and one complete-game shutout in his four starts this season.

But while Taillon may be the best pitcher, there’s no question that 31-year-old Nova has been the leader and steadying force of the group. It’s a pretty big change for a player that spent most of his time in New York barely holding on to (and sometimes failing to hold on to) a spot in the Yankees’ rotation.

“When we brought Nova over, he’d been a guy, that until last year, hadn’t started over 30 times,” manger Clint Hurdle said. “He’d never stayed in a rotation one full year in the big leagues.”

In 2017, Nova solidified his presence, going the distance in the starting rotation and throwing a career-high 187.0 innings. That jived with the Pirates message to him when he arrived:

“Put your foot down, get your thing right, if we get to a point where your thing is going pretty, could you give a look in the back yard over here to your right shoulder or your left shoulder and see what we’ve got?” Hurdle recalled.

Even before his start on Friday, Nova could be seen chatting up new relief pitcher Enny Romero in the clubhouse. He’s been a helpful presence for many of the Pirates pitchers, from pitching techniques to the process of adjusting to the major league lifestyle.

“This winter, it took on a more heightened awareness of it,” Hurdle said. “His want-to, at this point in time in his career and his evolution, I think it’s helped him. He’s not all wrapped up in survival mode now, like he was in New York. … That part of him has freed him up.”

BEANBALL BIAS

You heard in this space last week Josh Harrison’s reaction to losing six weeks of his season after having his hand broken by a wayward fastball. Matt Gajtka took a look at the other side of the coin by talking to some Pirates pitchers about the matter.

http://18.206.184.11/2018/04/seeing-the-josh-harrison-situation-from-a-pitchers-perspective.html

SKIP’S PLAYLIST

Hurdle’s phone went off during our (not televised) pregame media session. If you were dying to know, his current ringtone is “Magic Man” by Heart.

“My ringtone will never embarrass me,” he said, laughing. “It’ll always be 60s and 70s rock.”

PIRATES LINEUP

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