Pirates Reveal Starting Pitchers vs. Padres
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PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates didn't get the best showing from their starting pitching against the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium, suffering a sweep.
The Pirates' rotation will get a chance to make up for that against the San Diego Padres at Petco Park, their second series on their West Coast trip.
Braxton Ashcraft takes the mound for the Pirates in the series opener on Aug. 24, Paul Skenes starts in the following game on Aug. 25 and Bubba Chandler closes it out in the series finale on Aug. 26.
The Padres will have left-handed pitcher Robbie Ray go in the series opener, right-handed pitcher Michael King in the second game and then name their pitcher for the series finale.
Braxton Ashcraft Becoming Dominant Force for Pirates
Ashcraft dominated for the Pirates in the first half of 2026, but struggled following the All-Star break, potentially showing he couldn't maintain the great performances he had earlier on.
He's bucked that trend in the past two starts, putting on some of the best performances of his career and becoming a much better pitcher than he was in the first half of this season.
Ashcraft threw a complete game in the 13-1 win over the Miami Marlins at loanDepot Park on Aug. 13 and threw eight innings in the 4-1 victory over the Detroit Tigers at PNC Park on Aug. 18.
Both of those performances were incredibly efficient, making MLB history vs. the Marlins with just 85 pitches and 10 strikeouts, then throwing 80 pitches vs. the Tigers.
The only blemish for Ashcraft in those outings was a solo home run, but outside of that, the Marlins and Tigers had no idea of how to deal with him.
Ashcraft has relied on getting ahead of hitters, a 75% first pitch strike rate, and getting ground balls for easy and quick outs.
It's a perfect solution for a pitcher like Ashcraft, who is far past his career-high in innings pitched and the Pirates are trying to manage his innings/pitches towards the end of the season.
Ashcraft has a lengthy injury history, but has shown that he's not near slowing down anytime soon.
The 2026 campaign has been a strong one for Ashcraft and he can continue that in his first start against the Padres.
Paul Skenes Back on Original Rest and Struggles
Skenes is normally on a four-to-five-day rest period between starts in the season, but the Pirates decided that their ace needed more time between his past two starts.
He went from originally starting vs. the Boston Red Sox on Aug. 16 to facing the Tigers in the series finale at PNC Park on Aug. 19, following his previous start vs. the Marlins on Aug. 18, which gave him a whole week of rest.
Skenes didn't necessarily benefit from that rest, as he threw just 4.1 innings, gave up three runs, four hits and four walks.
The Pirates ace struggled with command, marking his third start of the past four that he walked at least four batters.
Skenes did get his fastball velocity back up to 97 mph, but teams are having success against his offspeed pitches and he's not getting the swing-and-miss he needs to be as effective as he's been.
He's not had the outings he's wanted the past three months, posting a 5.06 ERA over his last 17 starts and posting a 3-9 record during that time.
Skenes was confident after his last start, saw the benefit of getting rest and was confident he could fix the command issues he's been having.
The Pirates need Skenes to figure it out in this start, as they hope to get the best of him the remainder of the campaign.
Bubba Chandler Looks For Bounceback vs. Padres
Chandler was the best pitcher in the second half of the season for the Pirates prior to his last start, showing great growth and improvement in a short period of time.
He struggled vs. the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on Aug. 21, allowing four runs and lasting just four innings, two walks and four hits.
Chandler has been pretty solid outside of that outing following the All-Star break, with a 3.19 ERA over 31.0 innings pitched, 29 strikeouts to 11 walks, a 1.13 WHIP and a .212 batting average allowed.
He's managed to get his walks down, just one start over two walks in his past five contests, and has been much more efficient.
Chandler can rebound with a strong start vs. San Diego and get back to how he's usually pitched over the past month, getting out of jams and maturing into a major league pitcher.
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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.