The Yankees defeated the Reds 5-3 as they get great starting pitching from Ivan Nova and timely hitting early on in the game. Yankees scored 4 runs in the first inning, which turned out to be all they needed to beat the Reds.

Was this a fluke for Nova? Can he build off of this start?

Ivan Nova went 8 innings pitched, giving up 4 hits, 1 run, NO walks, and 7 strikeouts. There are two impressive things about this particular pitching line.

First, the fact that Nova was able to pitch 8 innings in this game. In the past his biggest downfall was the fact that he could not get through the second and third times through the opponent's lineup and therefore not making it out of the 6th inning. So far this month alone, he's pitched through the 7th inning twice including Monday night's effort. Previously he had done this four other times over 11 starts.

Second, he didn't walk a single batter. Going into Monday night's start, Nova had walked 32 batters, an average of just over 4 per game. This is a very good sign for Nova, especially since he was able to navigate by big time hitters such as the 2010 NL MVP Joey Votto, Jay Bruce, and Scott Rolen. Yankee fans should be happy and looking forward to what's to come for Ivan Nova down the road.

The Yankees took advantage of the great outing by Ivan Nova and got some timely hitting in the first inning to win this game. Impressively, the Yankees nor the Reds hit a home run in this game. This is surprising especially with the fact that this game was played in a ballpark that is certainly known for yielding a large number of home runs.

 

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