MIAMI — Philadelphia Phillies manager Pete Mackanin was blunt when asked about rookie right-hander Nick Pivetta, who will start Wednesday in the rubber game of a three-game series against the Miami Marlins.
“His first couple of starts … they weren’t good,” Mackanin said before the Phillies beat the Marlins 5-2 on Tuesday night. “Then, he all of a sudden turned it around. He started throwing strikes with all his pitches. He was more composed.”
Pivetta (2-5, 5.63 ERA), who has yet to face the Marlins, is a 24-year-old Canadian. He was the Washington Nationals’ fourth-round draft pick in 2013, fresh out of a New Mexico junior college.