The Pirates headed to Arizona looking to build on the momentum from their sweep of the Cincinnati Reds, but the opening game of the series against the Arizona Diamondbacks quickly felt like a return to some of the ugly trends that haunted them earlier in the season. After such a strong series against Cincinnati, you would have loved to see them carry that momentum into the desert, but instead it looked much more like the Pirates team that endured the frustrating five-game losing streak just a couple weeks ago.
A lot of eyes were on Bubba Chandler in the opener as fans continue waiting for the young right-hander to fully settle in at the major league level. Unfortunately, it was more of the same issues that have followed him through recent starts. The raw stuff continues to flash, but the command remains a major concern. Chandler threw 92 pitches and only around half of them found the strike zone. In the end, his final line really was not terrible at all, finishing with 5.0 innings pitched, two earned runs, two hits allowed, and six walks, but those free passes continue to prevent him from working deeper into games and consistently putting himself in position to succeed.
If Chandler can simply limit the walks and squeeze another inning or so out of outings like this, the conversation around his starts would feel completely different. The talent is obvious, but he has to find a way to lock in the command if he wants to stick long term in this rotation.
Things got shaky immediately in the first inning. After striking out Geraldo Perdomo to begin the game, Chandler surrendered a triple to Ketel Marte and then walked Corbin Carroll. Adrian Del Castillo brought home the first run with a sacrifice fly, and later in the inning Ildemaro Vargas added what technically went down as a double. Calling it a double feels generous though. Vargas hit a high fly ball into right center field that absolutely needed to be caught, but instead it dropped untouched between Oneil Cruz and Bryan Reynolds. Defensive miscues and awkward outfield communication have been a constant topic surrounding this team all season, and that issue showed up again in a brutal spot. Cruz took a lot of the criticism afterward, as he often does, but this was a play Reynolds appeared to have lined up the entire way before losing sight of it at the last second. Chandler’s reaction on the mound said everything, and Pirates fans everywhere probably had the exact same look on their faces.
Those two runs ended up being more than enough for Arizona, but the Diamondbacks added plenty more damage late just to make the final score sting even worse. Yohan Ramirez had a nightmare outing out of the bullpen, surrendering five runs while recording just one out in an appearance filled with wild pitches and hit batters. Dennis Santana entered afterward hoping to simply get some work in after several days off, but he looked far from sharp as well, giving up two more earned runs on three hits. By the end of the night it was a 9-0 Arizona victory.
There really is not much to say offensively for the Pirates in Game 1 because there simply was not much there. The offense looked lifeless from start to finish and there were barely any scoring opportunities worth discussing. It felt eerily similar to watching the 2025 offense all over again. Jared Triolo and Konnor Griffin accounted for the only two hits of the game for Pittsburgh, with Griffin extending his hitting streak serving as about the only positive takeaway from the opener.
Thankfully for the Pirates, the calendar flipped to a Paul Skenes start in Game 2.
The last time the Pirates desperately needed a bounce back performance on a Skenes day, things went sideways quickly against the Cardinals. This time, the ace delivered exactly what Pittsburgh needed.
Before Skenes even took the mound, Brandon Lowe crushed a towering solo homer nearly 435 feet to dead center field to give the Pirates an early 1-0 lead. As it turned out, that swing was all the offense Pittsburgh would need the entire night. Believe it or not, you could have turned the game off right there and gone to bed because Lowe’s blast held up as the difference in a 1-0 Pirates victory.
Of course, if you did that, you would have missed one of the best performances of Skenes’ already ridiculous young career.
The reigning NL Cy Young winner was completely dominant from the jump. Every inning felt like it lasted about thirty seconds before he was calmly walking back into the dugout. Skenes retired the first 14 batters he faced before finally allowing a cheap infield single in the fifth inning. Nolan Arenado followed with a hard-hit single of his own, but that was it. Arizona would not record another hit for the remainder of the game.
What made the outing even more impressive was how efficient Skenes remained throughout the night. By the time he reached the eighth inning, he still had plenty left in the tank. While there were a few signs of fatigue beginning to creep in with his velocity and command, he simply overpowered the Diamondbacks anyway. Skenes finished the eighth by striking out the side, with all three hitters hopelessly swinging through pitches they simply could not touch. Eight shutout innings. Ninety-seven pitches. Pure dominance.
Unfortunately, Skenes did not get the opportunity to chase his first career complete game shutout, as the Pirates turned the ball over to Gregory Soto in the ninth inning. Soto made things slightly interesting by issuing a one-out walk, but he settled down quickly and retired Marte on a fly ball before getting Carroll to ground out to first base to lock down the save.
The Pirates escaped with a 1-0 win and set themselves up with a chance to take the series in Game 3, where Mitch Keller got the ball looking to keep the momentum rolling.
Game 3 felt like one of those games where a good baseball team simply went out and handled its business.
In what almost felt like déjà vu from the night before, Brandon Lowe once again crushed a towering first inning home run to give the Pirates an early 1-0 lead. Lowe has been one of, if not the best second baseman in baseball this season, and the trade with the Tampa Bay Rays continues to look like an absolute masterclass from Ben Cherington. Credit absolutely has to be given where it is due there.
Even with the early lead, it was pretty obvious from the start that Keller did not have his sharpest stuff in the series finale. The command was not quite there and he just did not look as fully in control as he typically does when he is rolling. Keller opened his outing by issuing a walk, and that runner eventually came around to score on an RBI single from Del Castillo. Arizona grabbed the lead in the third inning when Carroll launched a solo homer to make it 2-1.
For as much criticism as Joey Bart takes from fans at times, he deserves a ton of credit for the way he handled this game behind the plate. Bart clearly understood Keller did not have his best command, and he challenged him all night to continue attacking hitters anyway. Keller responded well, limited the damage, and ultimately worked his way to another quality start. His final line of 6.0 innings, four hits, two earned runs, four strikeouts, and two walks may not jump off the page, but it was a really valuable outing for this team.
The Pirates offense flipped the game in the fifth inning after what looked like it was going to be another quiet frame. With two quick outs already recorded, Lowe singled to right, Reynolds worked a walk, and then Ryan O'Hearn tied the game with an RBI single of his own. Moments later, Spencer Horwitz delivered another RBI single that ultimately proved to be the game-winning run. In an inning that felt completely lifeless at first, the Pirates suddenly grabbed complete control of the game.
Bart was not finished contributing either. After his strong night behind the plate, he stepped up in the sixth inning and launched a massive solo homer to give the Pirates a 4-2 lead. That swing felt huge in the moment because this was the type of game that easily could have flipped the other direction at any point.
After Keller surrendered a leadoff single in the seventh inning, his night came to an end and the bullpen was handed a big spot. Santana entered much earlier than usual, and considering his recent struggles, it felt like an important moment for him personally as much as it was for the game itself. Santana immediately got the exact result he needed, inducing a ground ball double play to erase the baserunner. He walked the next hitter, but followed that by getting another ground ball to end the inning cleanly.
From there, the combination of Mason Montgomery, Isaac Mattson, and Soto shut things down over the final two innings to secure the series victory for Pittsburgh.
After getting embarrassed 9-0 in the opener, this was a heck of a response from the Pirates to rally back and take two out of three in Arizona. It was the type of series rebound that good teams make over the course of a long season.
Now the Pirates head to San Francisco to take on the struggling San Francisco Giants, hoping to catch them at the right time and continue stacking wins on this road trip.
Game 1 is set for Friday night at 10:15 PM as Carmen Mlodzinski squares off against Robbie Ray.
