Nova in command on the mound
Ivan Nova has been unbeatable since the Pirates acquired the right-hander from the New York Yankees on Aug. 1 in a trade.
Nova has gone 5-0 in seven starts with a 2.53 ERA and the Pirates have a 6-1 record in those games. Most impressively, he has 32 strikeouts and just two walks in 46 1/3 innings.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the only other Pirates pitcher since 1900 to compile at least 32 strikeouts with two walks or fewer since 1900 over a span of seven or more starts is Bob Friend in 1963.
During a nine-start stretch from May 24-June 26, Friend had 43 strikeouts and two walks in 67 2/3 innings while going 5-3 with a 1.60 ERA. He finished the season with a 17-16 record and a 2.38 ERA in 39 games, including 38 starts.
While Nova won鈥檛 pitch the necessary 162 innings to qualify, his 16.0 strikeout/walk ratio would easily break the single-season franchise record of 4.92 by Denny Driscoll in 1882.
Gerrit Cole蘑菇视频 4.59 ratio last season was the best by a Pirates鈥� pitcher since 1920.
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Jung Ho Kang蘑菇视频 two-run single in the first inning of Thursday night蘑菇视频 4-1 win over the Cincinnati Reds at PNC Park was a rarity for the third baseman this season. Kang came into the weekend batting just .185 in the first inning with five hits in 27 at-bats.
Last year, Kang hit .353 with five extra-base hits in the first inning on his way to finishing third in the National League Rookie of the Year voting.
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The Chicago Cubs entered the weekend with the best record in the major leagues at 90-50. That left them just 10 victories away from their first 100-win season since 1935.
The Cubs鈥� 81 years without reaching triple digits in wins is the third-longest active drought. The Pirates have gone 107 seasons since their last 100-win season and the Chicago White Sox have been waiting 99 years since 1917.
That the Pirates haven鈥檛 won 100 games since 1909 鈥� when they went 110-42 and beat the Detroit Tigers in the World Series 鈥� is quite surprising. They have since won four more World Series titles and six National League pennants.
Yet the Pirates鈥� top victory total over the last 107 years is 98, a number they reached in 1979, 2001 and 2015.