PITTSBURGH -- Eight days ago, the Pirates promised to be flexible with their bullpen. They would use their relievers to win games, manager Clint Hurdle said, not count saves. Their ninth-inning meltdown in Friday's 9-5 loss to the Cubs has not changed their thinking.
The Pirates used left-hander Felipe Rivero to lock down a pair of four-out saves following former closer Tony Watson's demotion. Hurdle deployed Rivero in the eighth inning Friday to face the lefty-laden top of the lineup, however, and he would have faced at least one batter in the ninth if Addison Russell had not run up his pitch count to 20.