Juan Nicasio has pitched in just about every role imaginable for the Pirates, from starter to closer.
But he has found some exceptional comfort in his newest job as the Pirates’ eighth-inning man.
Since moving to that role in late June, Nicasio has been lights out, with just two runs allowed in his last 20u2154 innings pitched — all but 2u2154 of which have been in the eighth.
“The eighth-inning role, you look at the numbers,” Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. “That gets your attention. So we made a transition early on, once we decided to go ahead and put [Felipe] Rivero at the end, to put [Nicasio] in front of him, and go from there.