Manager Clint Hurdle tried something new. In a nearly identical scenario to the Friday’s game, Hurdle on Saturday deployed left-hander Felipe Rivero midway through the eighth inning, rather than at its start, and let him close out the Pirates’ 4-3 win with a five-out save.
On Friday, Rivero entered in the eighth to face the top of the Chicago Cubs lineup. He did his job, but those behind him did not. On Saturday, Hurdle used right-hander Daniel Hudson to start the eighth and brought in Rivero with one out and a runner on second base. Rivero walked Kris Bryant, then mowed through the next five hitters for his third save.