BALTIMORE -- Pirates starter Ivan Nova left Wednesday's 6-5, 10-inning loss to the Orioles with left knee inflammation, while his catcher, Francisco Cervelli, exited in the ninth after taking a foul tip to the face mask, causing concussion-like symptoms. Both are considered day to day.
In the seventh, Nova gave up back-to-back home runs to start the inning. After the second home run, Nova was looked at on the mound by the training staff and was removed from the game.
"I felt a little bit of pain in my knee so I decided to get out of the game," Nova said. "No [the knee didn't cause the home runs]. I missed the pitch."
Nova twisted the same knee in his start on May 20 and was not sure if he was going to make his next start in Atlanta, but the righty was able to pitch.
"It's been good [since then]," Nova said. "You know, in one inning -- the fifth -- [I re-tweaked it] a little bit, but it was fine."
After Cervelli was struck by the foul ball, the training staff ran traditional concussion test that caused him to exit the game.
"I couldn't tell [how it hit him]," manager Clint Hurdle said. "I'd be guessing and I don't want to guess in the situation like that. He obviously left the game with concussion-like symptoms."