The Pirates expected Nova to benefit from leaving the American League East and pitching in front of their infield defense. His outing continued the Pirates' recent run of solid pitching, as they entered the night with the National League's second-best ERA in August. But this time, Pittsburgh supported its starter.
Limited to four runs over the last three days combined, the Pirates led off the game with six straight hits and ran up four runs in the first inning against Astros starter Joe Musgrove. Polanco accounted for the Pirates' offense the rest of the way, lining a solo homer down the left-field line in the third and ripping another solo shot to center in the fifth.