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PITTSBURGH -- If this was the end of Ivan Nova's brief time with the Pittsburgh Pirates, he went out on a good note.
The right-hander allowed one run in 5 1/3 innings Thursday night as the Pirates and Chicago Cubs played to the first tie game in the major leagues since 2005 when rain forced the teams to stop in the sixth inning with the score 1-all.
The Cubs and Pirates aren't scheduled to play again this season, and the game won't be made up because it doesn't affect postseason positioning. So instead of becoming a suspended game, the stats count and it was declared a tie -- the first since Houston and Cincinnati went seven innings on June 30, 2005, before rain halted them.
After losing his previous two starts, Nova limited the Cubs to four hits with five strikeouts and no walks.
It was the final start of the season for Nova, who went 5-2 in 11 starts after being acquired Aug. 1 from the New York Yankees in a trade. He is eligible for free agency after the World Series.
"I had a really, really, really good time here and hopefully we can work it out to where I can stay," Nova said. "I'm excited for free agency, though, and we'll see what happens."
Pirates general manager Neal Huntington said last week that he has been in talks with Nova's representative about a possible extension.
"I leave that to my agents," Nova said. "I really know anything about it."
Pittsburgh is 78-80 and needs to sweep its season-ending three-game series at St. Louis that starts Friday night in order to extend its streak of winning seasons to four. The Pirates had 20 straight losing seasons from 1993-2012, the record for major North American team professional sports.
Willson Contreras had two hits and scored for the NL Central champion Cubs, who have already clinched the best record in the majors. Josh Bell hit a sacrifice fly for the Pirates.
The Cubs weren't around to talk about it as they were already dressed and out of the clubhouse by the time they game was officially called following a delay of 1 hour, 23 minutes.
"A tie, I don't remember every being involved in one at the major league level," Pirates manager Clint Hurdle said. "It's definitely something different."
Tim Federowicz hit a sacrifice fly in the Cubs second. Pittsburgh tied it in the third.
Cubs rookie Rob Zastryzny gave up one unearned run in 3 2/3 innings in his first major league start after beginning his career with seven relief appearances.
Manager Joe Maddon opted to use all relievers as he prepares his team for the postseason.
FOOTBALL HERO
Maddon wore a No. 12 Lafayette College football jersey during his pregame meeting with reporters. It was the same number he wore when he was a quarterback for Leopards.
The Cubs' traveling party planned to wear football jerseys for their flight to Cincinnati following the game.
CARDINALS 4, REDS 3
ST. LOUIS (AP) -- Yadier Molina hit a disputed double that drove in the winning run with two outs in the ninth inning Thursday night, sending the St. Louis Cardinals over the Cincinnati Reds 4-3.
The Cardinals began the day one game behind San Francisco for the second NL wild-card spot.
Matt Carpenter drew a one-out walk from Blake Wood (6-5). With two outs, Molina's one-hop hit bounced off a sign above the left-field wall and caromed back into play.
ORIOLES 4,
BLUE JAYS 0
TORONTO (AP) -- Ubaldo Jimenez and two relievers combined on a three-hitter and Baltimore beat Toronto, leaving the teams tied in the AL wild-card race.
Detroit is 1 1/2 games behind the Orioles and Blue Jays.
BRAVES 5, PHILLIES 2
ATLANTA (AP) -- Freddie Freeman's 30-game hitting streak ended when he struck out in the eighth inning, but Atlanta later scored four runs off Philadelphia closer Jeanmar Gomez.
Mauricio Cabrera (5-1) got one out.
YANKEES 5
RED SOX 1
NEW YORK (AP) -- The Yankees were eliminated from playoff contention despite finishing off a three-game sweep of AL East champion Boston.
CC Sabathia (9-12) allowed one run and four hits over a season-high 7 1/3 innings for his first win in a month.
NATIONALS 5, DIAMONDBACKS 3
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Wilmer Difo hit his first major league homer, and Pedro Severino his second, helping injury-depleted NL East champion Washington move closer to clinching home-field advantage in the Division Series.
TWINS 7, ROYALS 6
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) -- Byron Buxton tripled, doubled, drove in two runs and scored twice as Minnesota defeated Kansas City.
Salvador Perez's pinch-hit RBI single with two outs in the ninth pulled the Royals within a run, and Terrance Gore ran for him. Paulo Orlando was up next, and already had four hits when Brandon Kintzler picked off Gore at first base.
RAYS 5, WHITE SOX 3
CHICAGO (AP) -- Chris Archer overcame a shaky seventh inning to avoid becoming the majors' first 20-game loser since 2003 and lead Tampa Bay.
Archer (9-19) allowed three runs and six hits in 6 2/3 innings to help the Rays snap a six-game skid. Mike Maroth of Detroit was the last pitcher to lose 20 times in a season.