Pirates Announce Starting Pitchers Against Royals
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PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates have one final weekend at PNC Park this season, and their starting pitchers are ready for an American League foe.
The Pirates host the Kansas City Royals at PNC Park this weekend, Sept. 18-20, and will try to keep their playoff hopes alive for as long as they can.
Pittsburgh has Paul Skenes pitching in the series opener on Sept. 18, Bubba Chandler taking the mound on Sept. 19 and then "TBA" for the series finale on Sept. 20.
Kansas City has two right-handed pitchers starting, Randy Dobnak in the series opener and Michael Wacha in the series finale, while left-hander Noah Cameron faces off against Chandler.
Paul Skenes Aiming for Strong Finish to 2026
It's been a rough year for Skenes, who has been far off his 2025 National League Cy Young Award campaign.
Skenes has a 10-11 record in 30 starts, a 3.78 ERA over 162.0 innings pitched, 185 strikeouts to 46 walks, a .229 batting average allowed and a 1.13 WHIP.
While Skenes has struggled this season, he's been pitching better recently, with a 2.74 ERA over his last four starts.
Skenes bounced back after two early solo home runs and threw seven innings against the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field on Sept. 12, giving up just four hits and a walk.
He also threw six scoreless innings against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park on Aug. 25 and 5.1 scoreless innings against the Los Angeles Angels at PNC Park on Sept. 6.
Skenes has issued fewer walks, given up less hard-hit contact and gotten quicker outs, allowing him to go deeper into games.
He has just two starts left in 2026, and a great outing against the Royals would continue his trend of finishing this year strong.
Chandler Coming Close to End of Rookie Season
The major leagues are a much higher level of competition and Chandler found that out in his rookie campaign.
Chandler readies for his 29th start and 30th game in 2026, with an 8-9 record, a 4.28 ERA over 147.1 innings pitched, 132 strikeouts to 75 walks, a .226 BAA and a 1.35 WHIP.
He's been much better in the second half of 2026, with a 5-1 record in 10 starts, a 3.40 ERA over 53.0 innings pitched, 47 strikeouts to 20 walks, a .219 BAA and a 1.17 WHIP.
Chandler is coming off of two starts in Chicago, posting eight strikeouts over six innings against the White Sox at Rate Field on Sept. 8 and giving up three runs over 5.1 innings against the Cubs on Sept. 13.
The four walks he issued against the Cubs weren't great, but he also worked out of some tough jams and his development since the All-Star break has been clear to see.
Chandler has shown at times why he was the best pitching prospect in baseball, but his work on the ancillary parts of his game has led to much better outings as of late.
Pirates Going With Another Bullpen Game
The Pirates have two bullpen games, after season-ending injuries to starting pitchers, Braxton Ashcraft and Mitch Keller, and they'll have one in the series finale against the Royals.
Right-handed pitcher Lake Bachar should get the start in this one, barring the Pirates needing him earlier in the series.
Bachar has started in his past four games and in six of his past eight outings, as the Pirates like him in the spot starter role.
He's succeeded for the Pirates in this role, with just three earned runs over 13.1 innings pitched for a 2.03 ERA.
The Pirates have used left-handed relief pitcher Brandon Eisert in Bachar's last two starts, which has worked, as Eisert has thrown 4.2 scoreless innings.
If Skenes and Chandler can have longer outings, the Pirates will have a bullpen ready for the workload this type of game needs.
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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.