Pirates' Bubba Chandler Rediscovers His Best Stuff
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PITTSBURGH — Bubba Chandler hadn't been at his best self in recent start, but he showed the Pittsburgh Pirates that he has what it takes to excel in the major leagues.
Chandler threw a career-high 11 strikeouts against the Toronto Blue Jays, which came over five innings in the 6-2 defeat in the series opener at the Rogers Centre on May 22.
He finished tied for the fifth-most strikeouts in a game by a Pirates rookie and he is one of 13 rookies to throw 11 strikeouts in a game in Pirates history.
Chandler is also one of two Pirates pitchers with at least 11 strikeouts in just five innings, along with left-hander Erik Bedard, who had the same against the St. Louis Cardinals in a 6-3 win at Busch Stadium on May 3, 2012.
He ended up taking the loss, but due to three errors, he only incurred one earned run and demonstrated that he can still dominate opposing hitters in the midst of some tough outings.
Bubba Chandler tonight:
— Platinum Key (@PlatinumKey13) May 23, 2026
5.0 IP, 2 H, 3 R, 1 ER, 3 BB, 11 SO
99 pitches, 63 strikes, 22(!!) whiffs
Topped out at 101.3 MPH
Absolutely fantastic stuff tonight. pic.twitter.com/gaxISy3VeR
How Chandler Was So Effective Vs. the Blue Jays
One of the most impressive parts of Chandler's starts was that he didn't throw below his average velocity on any of his pitches and threw harder on all but one of his six pitches.
His four-seam fastball was up one tick and his sinker was up two ticks, while he managed to not let his velocity trail off later on in his outing.
Chandler also mixed up his pitches, initially using the fastball 48% the first time through the order and 46% the second time, but then just 28% the third time, while he went more with his slider, something Pirates manager Don Kelly really liked seeing from his young pitcher.
"I thought he did a really good job of mixing it up, especially in the fourth and fifth innings" Kelly said postgame to SportsNet Pittsburgh. "Going to the offspeed pitch to open up the fastball even more and I think that it was really effective and I thought he did a really good job of throwing strikes."
Bubba Chandler's Pitch Usage/Average Velocity vs. Blue Jays
Pitch | Usage | Average Velocity |
|---|---|---|
Four-Seam Fastball | 43/99 (43%) | 99.3 mph |
Changeup | 18/99 (18%) | 92.7 mph |
Sinker | 18/99 (18%) | 99.1 mph |
Slider | 11/99 (11%) | 90.0 mph |
Curveball | 6/99 (6%) | 88.5 mph |
Sweeper | 3/99 (3%) | 90.4 mph |
Maybe even more impressive with Chandler was how he spread out his strikeouts over his pitches, with only his sinker not getting one strikeout.
He had 22 whiffs on 51 swings against the Blue Jays, tied for the second-most by a Pirates starter the past two seasons, with Paul Skenes against the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park on May 18, 2025.
Only former left-handed pitcher Andrew Heaney had more, with 24 whiffs against the Los Angeles Angels at Angels Stadium on April 23, 2025, according to Luke Henne of Pirates PR.
Bubba Chandler's Strikeouts/Whiff Rates Per Pitch
Pitch | Strikeouts | Whiff Rate |
|---|---|---|
Four-Seam Fastball | 2 | 40% (10/25) |
Changeup | 3 | 44% (4/9) |
Sinker | 0 | 17% (1/6) |
Slider | 2 | 50% (2/4) |
Curveball | 2 | 50% (2/4) |
Sweeper | 2 | 100% (3/3) |
His 43% usage of his four-seam fastball was 11% below his normal 54% usage in his starts this season, which played a big role in getting better whiffs on it, 10 of the 22.
It then resulted in his offspeed pitches having more effectiveness, with his changeup, slider, curveball and sweeper having a combined 55% whiff rate (11 of 20).
Why This Start is so Important for Chandler
Chandler had struggled massively in his past five starts, with a 6.95 ERA and 18 walks to 19 strikeouts, having issues with command and hard-hit contact.
He only allowed two hits in this start, with just eight batted ball events and three hard-hit contact balls.
The Blue Jays did score three runs in the third inning, with Chandler giving up a single and a double, but Endy Rodríguez committed catcher's interference to start off an first baseman Spencer Horwitz committed a throwing error that scored a run, before the two-run double.
Chandler bounced back with just one walk over the next two innings, including five strikeouts over the final six outs of his start.
If this start had gone like previous ones, Chandler would've spiraled and let things go from bad to worse, but instead, he stayed calm and went right after the Blue Jays hitters, something Kelly noticed.
“I think that the thing that was most encouraging to me is just his composure out there today," Kelly said. "The presence on the mound. The way he was able to stay on attack mode and work through those things. Had a couple walks early, but continued to stay within himself and stay within the strike zone and got a lot of whiffs, got strikeouts and really did a great job of getting through five innings.”
Chandler was happy with the way he pitched, even with some mistakes, but isn't letting this start get to his head too much.
He knows he needs more consistency moving forward and that this start is what he's asked to do, which he'll try and emulate in his future outings.
“Yeah, yes and no, it’s kind of my job to do stuff, stay in games and put our team in a position to win." Chandler said to SportsNet Pittsburgh postgame. "I think each outing has gotten better, stat-wise or whatever, it’s learning and I appreciate DK for saying that. It’s my job to go out there and compose myself and go out there and get through a lineup, three, four times, whatever it is. It’s my job. Kind of have to do it.”
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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.