PHOTO CREDIT: DERIK HAMILTON-USA TODAY SPORTS
Heeee’s baaackkk!
I don’t know who that guy was that we saw back in April, but this, people, this, is the Nick Pivetta I expected to see this season.
First, his line in the Phils’ 4-1 win over the Reds this afternoon at Citizens Bank Park: 9 IP, 6 H, 1 ER, 0 BB, 6 K
You could say he was pretty fired up after the game:
Put that on a t-shirt.
The complete game performance was the first of his career, far surpassing his previous longest start which came last June in a 7.1 IP effort against the Cardinals.
After two first inning hits quickly put the Reds up 1-0, Pivetta settled in, retiring the next 16 batters while needing only 66 pitches to complete the first six innings. The Reds didn’t have another base runner until the seventh when Joey Votto led off the inning with a single, but Pivetta struck out the next two hitters and induced a weak groundout to end the inning.
Cincinnati would threaten again in the eighth after putting two men on with nobody out, but Pivetta would get Reds catcher Tucker Barnhart to bounce into a double-play before Jose Iglesias hit a weak bouncer for the final out.
He used his fastball that had plenty of late life, particularly early on, along with a curveball and slider mix to keep Reds hitters off balance. Efficient. Dominant. Short bullpen? No problem. Not when Nick Pivetta is on the mound.
Fine. Maybe that’s a little much, but at the very least, there is no arguing that Pivetta looks like a totally different pitcher than the one who needed 100 pitches to survive five innings against the Mets back on April 15 despite being staked to a 10-0 lead in that game. He was soon demoted, and rightfully so, having allowed an obscene 39 baserunners and 17 earned runs in only 18.1 IP to start the season.
To his credit, he regrouped at Lehigh Valley where he held opponents to a .173 batting average while striking out 50 in only 37.1 IP. Whatever happened out there, well, good. It’s paying off.
Here’s what he has done since his return: 20 IP, 4 ER, 12 H, 2 BB, 21 K
No homers and only one hit for Jay Bruce today. I guess he’s cooling off. Good thing the hit came at the right time.
With the bases loaded and two outs in the bottom of the first inning, Bruce knocked a two-run single to right that gave the Phillies an early 2-1 lead. That, of course, would be enough for Pivetta. Bruce now has eight hits and 11 RBI in his first 17 plate appearances with the Phillies.
Rhys Hoskins’ first inning double was only his seventh extra-base hit dating back to May 8, a span of 125 PAs. He’s still generating walks, but after his 1 for 4 day, he’s now hitting only .216 since that date. His early production was a big reason why the Phillies could withstand Bryce Harper’s early struggles, and to their credit, this team is still finding ways to win, but the Phillies could really use a hot-streak from him as they get back into NL East play with the Braves next weekend.