The way Nick Pivetta looked at it, he owed his teammates a favor.
Pivetta lasted only 1 2/3 innings in his start Friday night. So, with the Phillies out of available relievers in the 13th inning of Sunday’s marathon against the Washington Nationals at Citizens Bank Park, he volunteered — practically begged, according to manager Gabe Kapler — to come out of the bullpen and pitch.
“They had to [pick up the slack] when I pitched last,” Pivetta said, “so I thought I might as well give it a try.”
Ordinarily, Pivetta would have thrown his between-starts bullpen session Sunday.