BALTIMORE — One out from completing the seventh inning here Thursday night, Nick Pivetta trudged back to the Phillies dugout after giving up a 400-foot, two-run home run on his 102nd pitch of the game.
OK, so it wasn’t the way Pivetta wanted to punctuate his final start before the all-star break.
Still, in every way, this represented progress. Given the gift of facing the dreadful Baltimore Orioles for a second time this season — he can thank a torrential rainstorm May 15 that postponed the game by nearly two months — Pivetta didn’t allow a hit until the sixth inning.