Nova, Polanco lead Pirates to 7-1 victory over Astros (Yahoo Sports)

Ivan Nova took a shutout into the ninth inning and finished with a six-hitter while Gregory Polanco hit two home runs to lead the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 7-1 victory over the Houston Astros on Tuesday night. Nova (10-6) struck out six, walked one and threw 69 of his 98 pitches for strikes while improving to 3-0 in four starts since being acquired from the New York Yankees in an Aug. 1 trade. Pittsburgh snapped its four-game losing streak and stopped Houston's four-game winning streak.