CHICAGO -- The Pirates on Tuesday announced that their Sept. 9 game against the Marlins at PNC Park, which was postponed due to rain and rescheduled for Monday, has been officially canceled.
The Pirates were eliminated from the postseason race on Sunday, so the game no longer had playoff implications. Pittsburgh's season will end on Sunday against the Reds at Great American Ball Park.
Fans with tickets for the Sept. 9 game can exchange them for any April or May home game in 2019, excluding the home opener against the Cardinals on April 1. For more information, visit pirates.com/raincheck.
Manager Clint Hurdle said the cancellation will not affect the Pirates' plans over the final week of the season, and players figured they would not return to Pittsburgh for that game after being eliminated in the National League Wild Card race. But if they had played, it might have worked to the benefit of right-hander Ivan Nova.
The Pirates never announced a starter for that game, but Nova would have been in line to pitch on Monday after starting Wednesday's game at Wrigley Field. Now, Nova will finish the season with 29 starts. One more outing would have triggered a performance bonus in the veteran's contract that pays him $750,000 for making 30 starts or pitching 190 innings.
Nova will still receive his annual bonus of $250,000 for making 28 starts this season. He seemed unfazed by the cancellation, noting he also missed starts this season due to a sprained right ring finger and another while on the bereavement list following a death in his extended family.
Around the horn
• Right-hander Nick Kingham will start the series opener against the Reds on Friday, and Chris Archer is scheduled to pitch Sunday's season finale. The Pirates have not yet decided who will start Saturday's game at Great American Ball Park.
Right-hander Jameson Taillon is lined up to pitch on Saturday after throwing seven strong innings on Monday night at Wrigley Field, but Hurdle said the club is "working through some information to make a good decision" as to whether Taillon will get one more start. He has already thrown a career-high 185 innings this season.
• Center fielder Starling Marte (left calf tightness) returned to the starting lineup on Tuesday.
• Taillon and Trevor Williams are tied for the team lead with 14 wins after Taillon's victory on Monday. The last time the Pirates had two right-handers with 14 or more wins in the same season was 1978, when Bert Blyleven and Don Robinson each won 14. Pittsburgh last had two 14-game winners in 1992: Doug Drabek (15-11) and lefty Randy Tomlin (14-9).