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Plethora of lefty relievers pleasing to Hurdle
- Updated: August 13, 2016
LOS ANGELES — For years, manager Clint Hurdle has put in a request to general manager Neal Huntington. If possible, he wants three left-handers at his disposal in the Pirates’ bullpen.
Huntington did him one better over the past few weeks, stocking Pittsburgh’s ‘pen with four lefties: closer Tony Watson, new setup man Felipe Rivero, reacquired southpaw Antonio Bastardo and multi-inning option Jeff Locke.
Why does Hurdle prefer a balanced bullpen? Look no further than the Pirates’ 5-1 win over the Dodgers on Friday night.
Starter Ivan Nova left the game with a runner on second and one out in the sixth inning. Lefty hitter Joc Pederson was due up, so Hurdle walked to the mound, removed Nova and called for Bastardo.
Bastardo ran a full count against Pederson, but he got him to swing through three sliders. Pederson slammed his bat in the dirt then watched Bastardo get Howie Kendrick to hit into an inning-ending groundout.
“Bastardo being able to come in and get a big-barrel bat like Pederson in the sixth inning, we haven’t always had that opportunity,” Hurdle said. “Sometimes it’s a little more …
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