Mason Montgomery Making Spot Start for Pirates vs. Braves
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PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates decided they wanted to switch up their pitching plan ahead of their next contest.
The Pirates now have left-handed pitcher Mason Montgomery as the the starting pitcher against the Atlanta Braves in the series finale at Truist Park on June 7, instead of right-handed pitcher Bubba Chandler, who was originally slated as the starting pitcher.
Montgomery will make a "spot start", which has him come in for one inning and then the Pirates will either go with another reliever or likely put Chandler in for a bulk role, five or six innings depending on his effectiveness.
It's a strategy that's worked for the Pirates previously and they'll hope it works and helps them avoid a sweep on the road.
Why the Pirates Are Having Montgomery Start vs. Braves
This is the fourth time the Pirates have had Montgomery as a spot starter, doing so against the Washington Nationals on April 15, the St. Louis Cardinals on April 27 and the Colorado Rockies on May 14, all at PNC Park.
Montgomery threw a scoreless first inning in all three of those starts and then right-handed pitcher Carmen Mlodzinski, who was in the starting rotation before Jared Jones' return, came in sometime after.
The reasoning for this was so that it changed up a team's lineup, forcing them to move left-handed batters around instead of bunching them at the top of the batting order, making it easier for Mlodzinski, who struggles at times against left-handed hitting.
Chandler doesn't have a dramatic change in splits between left-handed and right-handed hitting (.226 vs. .225 batting average allowed), but he has struggled this season with a 5.05 ERA and 1-5 record in his last eight starts with a 6.08 ERA.
The Braves have one of the best lineups in baseball, but generally have a solid split between right-handed batters and left-handed batters early on, with right-handers in right fielder Ronald Acuña Jr. and shortstop Maurice Dubon, plus left-handers in first baseman Matt Olson and designated hitter Dominic Smith, plus switch hitter in second baseman Ozzie Albies.
Pittsburgh will hope that this strategy pans out and Chandler can have a solid outing, giving the rookie a chance to find some form in a tough 2026 campaign for him.
Success of Pirates Spot Starts
Mlodzinski came in twice for Montgomery, throwing six scoreless innings vs. the Nationals in the 2-0 win and allowing two runs over five innings vs. the Rockies in a 7-2 victory.
He came in right in the second inning vs. Washington and then came in the third inning vs. Colorado, as left-handed relief pitcher Evan Sisk threw a scoreless second inning.
The game vs. St. Louis on April 27 was a bullpen game for the Pirates, which worked incedibly well for the most part.
Montgomery and right-handed pitcher Justin Lawrence threw scoreless frames, then rookie right-handed pitcher threw four innings, giving the Pirates a perfect game going into the seventh inning.
Sisk gave up a hit, but he and left-handed pitcher Gregory Soto kept the Cardinals scoreless, until right-handed pitcher Dennis Santana gave up four earned runs in the ninth inning in the 4-2 defeat.
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Dominic writes for Pittsburgh Pirates On SI, Pittsburgh Panthers Pn SI and also, Pittsburgh Steelers On SI. A Pittsburgh native, Dominic grew up watching Pittsburgh Sports and wrote for The Pitt News as an undergraduate at the University of Pittsburgh, covering Pitt Athletics. He would write for Pittsburgh Sports Now after college and has years of experience covering sports across Pittsburgh.