Ivan Nova begrudgingly left the mound amid a torrential downpour Friday night. That cut short his 28th start this season at only 46 pitches and forced him to watch from the home clubhouse as the bullpen imploded in a six-run sixth inning, resulting in an 8-3 loss to the Brewers.
Nova, like his fellow starters, wants to pitch deep into each of his starts, no matter the situation. That was especially important to him this time since his club has yet to be mathematically eliminated and was riding a five-game winning streak. Now, they're 77-75, seven games back in the wild-card race with four teams to surpass and only 10 games remaining.
The two-hour, 14-minute rain delay that forced Clint Hurdle to use five relievers didn't wash away the importance of each of these final starts for Nova. He's determined to finish strong after a knee injury caused him to struggle in the second half last season, and his rejuvenation is a promising development for a rotation that will be without Chad Kuhl for all of 2019 because of Tommy John surgery.
"It’s much, much different," Nova said of his health afterwards. "I put in a lot of work this offseason. I put in a lot of work throughout the year. It’s amazing the way I’ve been feeling. I have to keep working hard. I still have one more to go. I have a lot of work to do the next three or four days to prepare myself for the last one, then can finally relax for a little bit."
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