Pirates Reveal Starting Pitchers Against White Sox
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PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates are still in the National League Wild Card race and need a great showing from their starting rotation.
The Pirates face the Chicago White Sox at Rate Field, Sept. 8-10, the first of their two series in the "Windy City", as they'll face the Chicago Cubs this weekend.
Pittsburgh has right-handed pitchers, Bubba Chandler going in the series opener on Sept. 8 and Jared Jones pitching in the series finale on Sept. 10, while putting "TBA" for Sept. 9.
The White Sox have two right-handed pitchers taking the mound in Sean Burke for the series opener and Davis Martin in the second game, with "TBA" listed for the series finale.
Bubba Chandler Looks For Stronger Finish vs. White Sox
Chandler has pitched well in the second half of 2026, but his most recent start against the San Francisco Giants at PNC Park on Sept. 2 didn't go that well.
He allowed three earned runs over five innings, but two runs came in the fifth inning, that he should've escaped unscathed.
Chandler got a fly ball from Giants first baseman Rafael Devers, an easy out, but the Pirates fielders got lost in twilight, per manager Don Kelly, and it loaded the bases, leading to a sacrifice fly and an RBI single to make it 3-1.
The Pirates rookie had a decent outing, but gave up a big home run to Devers in the first inning and walked three batters.
Chandler is still pitching much better than he did before the All-Star break, a 3-1 record in eight starts, a 3.24 ERA over 41.2 innings pitched, 36 strikeouts to 16 walks, a .217 batting average allowed and a 1.18 WHIP.
He'll get his chance to bounce back against the White Sox and give the Pirates an important win to start the series.
Pirates Keep Having Success With Bullpen Game
The Pirates are more than a month into using their bullpen for one game in the rotation, and they've had great success recently.
Right-handed pitcher Lake Bachar has started four games for the Pirates and allowed just two earned runs over 9.2 innings pitched for a 1.86 ERA.
The Pirates usually let Bachar go two innings or two and a third, and he's done well against right-handed batters, .163/.239/.341 for an OPS of .581, and against left-handed batters, .208/.315/.364 for an OPS of .679.
Pittsburgh could bring in Carmen Mlodzinski, who has pitched much better lately coming out of the bullpen, or use rookie Khristian Curtis, who threw three innings after Bachar in the 5-2 win over the Giants on Sept. 3.
The Pirates have a few options for how they go after the White Sox, but expect Bachar to lead off the game as he's done before.
Jones Tries to Maintain Momentum Through September
One Pirates pitcher who needed a great start to September was Jared Jones and he did that and then some his last time out.
Jones pitched six scoreless innings, tied his career-high with nine strikeouts and threw a season-high 91 pitches in the 1-0 win over the Los Angeles Angels at PNC Park on Sept. 4.
He only allowed three hits and a walk and dominated the Angels with his slider, striking out seven batters with it.
Jones had struggled massively in August, with a 7.40 ERA, a .318 BAA and 1.94 WHIP, a disappointing showing after a great performance in July.
He has the stuff to become a great pitcher, but he'll have to show it against a much better lineup in the White Sox, who can hit for power and score runs quickly.
If Jones can close out the series against the White Sox, then the Pirates should have a good chance to get another important win.
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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.