FORT MYERS, Fla. -- Efficiency was the key to starter Ivan Nova's turnaround with the Pirates last season. He pounded the strike zone. He threw two complete games and needed fewer than 100 pitches to finish both. He avoided walks like he'd become allergic to them.
Nova looked like the same pitcher on Thursday night, working five quick innings in the Pirates' 4-3 loss to the Red Sox at JetBlue Park. He struck out five Boston hitters and didn't walk any. Of his 65 pitches, 45 were strikes.
Nova was so efficient, in fact, that he had to throw 15 extra pitches in the bullpen after he became the first Pirate to complete five innings this spring.