Nova given leeway to sculpt pitching persona

PITTSBURGH — You only get one chance to make a first impression, as manager Clint Hurdle often says. But for the Pirates, the first impression isn’t always a lasting one.

Right-hander Ivan Nova will make his Pittsburgh debut on Saturday after joining the club in a Trade Deadline deal with the Yankees. The Pirates believe Nova, effectively replacing Francisco Liriano, will help their rotation down the stretch.

They believe Nova’s sinker will play better with catchers Francisco Cervelli and Chris Stewart, familiar faces from New York, behind the plate. They believe he will benefit from getting away from the American League East’s tough lineups and hitter-friendly ballparks.

But they don’t believe in jumping to conclusions or making changes before a pitcher gets a chance to prove himself, so they’ll first let Nova acclimate to his new surroundings.

“We’ve got some thoughts going in, but we need him to show us and tell us,” Hurdle said. “We did share our organizational philosophy of pitching … and now, we said, ‘We want you to go out and pitch with confidence and scheme the game plan with Cervelli, and we’ll continue to paint the picture together moving forward based on what we …

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