Pirates Change Starting Pitchers vs. Giants
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PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates take on the San Francisco Giants in their first homestand of the month with a different starting-pitcher setup than expected.
The Pirates host the Giants at PNC Park, Sept. 1-3, and moved Jared Jones' start from the series finale on Sept. 3 to the series opener vs. the Los Angeles Angels on Sept. 4.
Pittsburgh instead has a bullpen game for the series finale, while Paul Skenes pitches in the series opener on Sept. 1 and Bubba Chandler throws in the next game on Sept. 2.
The Giants will have three right-handed pitchers vs. the Pirates: Logan Webb in the series opener, Landon Roupp in the second game and then Blake Tidwell in the series finale.
Skenes Looks For Strong Finish to 2026
The Pirates have waited patiently for Skenes to finally get out of his slump and back to his best form this season.
Skenes finally showed he might do that in his last start vs. the San Diego Padres at Petco Park on Aug. 25, throwing six scoreless innings and posting four strikeouts, while allowing just three hits and no walks.
It was his first scoreless start in more than three months, and he also didn't walk a batter either, both encouraging marks for Skenes.
Skenes got his velocity up, induced weak contact and got ahead with first-pitch strikes, making for an efficient, quick outing.
The Pirates ace had struggled massively before this start, with a 3-9 record in 17 starts and a 5.06 ERA, as he had issues with velocity and command that he didn't have in his first two seasons.
Skenes has a great chance to continue this momentum against a weak Giants lineup and finish 2026 off strong.
Chandler Aims for Another Strong Start vs. Giants
Chandler is in the final month of his first full season in the Pirates' starting rotation, with many learning moments throughout.
The Pirates rookie dealt with command issues and poor starts early on, but has come along strongly in the second half and is becoming the pitcher people expected from him when he was a top prospect.
Chandler has a 3-1 record in seven starts post-All-Star break, a 2.95 ERA over 36.2 innings pitched, 32 strikeouts to 13 walks, a .211 BAA and a 1.12 WHIP.
He had a strong outing against the Padres on Aug. 26, allowing one earned run over 5.2 innings, but taking the loss in the 3-0 shutout.
There is still much Chandler needs to improve upon this season, but he's showing that growth between starts and learning quickly what it takes to excel as a major league pitcher.
Have Pirates Figured Out Their Best Bullpen Approach?
The Pirates will go with the bullpen game for the series finale vs. the Giants, something they've done since starting pitcher Mitch Keller went down with a season-ending injury.
Pittsburgh originally went with Carmen Mlodzinski for three starts, but after his struggles, they decided Lake Bachar was the better option.
Bachar has done better in his three starts, allowing two runs over 7.1 innings pitched and giving the Pirates a good beginning to these games.
Mlodzinski finally found success, coming out of the bullpen vs. the St. Louis Cardinals on Aug. 29 and throwing 3.1 innings.
This included coming into a bases-loaded situation and escaping unscathed in the third inning, while also allowing one run after the Pirates committed three errors in the fifth inning.
Pittsburgh ended up winning 6-2 and had six different pitchers come through to secure the victory.
If Bachar and Mlodzinski can keep suceeding in these bulk roles, it will be big for the Pirates executing in these bullpen games for the rest of 2026.
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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.