After an offseason in which the Pirates made a handful of moves to beef up a roster that went 71-91 in 2025, Pittsburgh saw an up-and-down first half. They now come to the Bronx for their only series of the season against the Yankees, looking to make up some ground in the tight NL Central race. Outside of the last-place Reds, every team in their division is above the .500 mark, including the Bucs, who are 52-48 and 10.5 games out of first but in possession of a Wild Card spot. They have the second-longest
playoff drought in baseball, as they haven’t made it to October since getting blanked by the Cubs in the 2015 NL Wild Card Game.
While the Yankees split a doubleheader against the Los Angeles Dodgers to finish out their series, Pirates ace Paul Skenes posted a strong seven innings with eight strikeouts and only one earned run on seven hits in a 7-1 victory against Cleveland. And while Yankees fans won’t be able to see Skenes in person this season, they’ll still get plenty of exciting action against a Pirates team that’s looking to continue its fight toward the postseason.
So let’s take a look at what’s in store.
Monday – Ryan Weathers vs. Braxton Ashcraft (7:05 pm Eastern)
Following a relatively decent start to the season, it feels as if Ryan Weathers has fallen back down to Earth. He will take the mound in the opener of the three-game set against the Pirates, hoping to get back on track after seeing his team lose in three of his last games pitched. His last outing against the Nationals was a step in the right direction, as he pitched 5.1 innings and, despite allowing six hits, he only allowed one run. He also registered six strikeouts on 91 pitches.
Weathers sits with a 3-7 record and a 4.15 ERA, just slightly worse than the Yankees pitcher taking the mound the next night (which we’ll talk about in a moment), but against a Pirates team that has struggled against left-handed pitchers on the road, he may have the chance to get back to the level he wants to be at now that the second-half of the season is underway.
On the other side of the equation is Braxton Ashcraft, who made headlines around the Pirates and MLB for his first career All-Star appearance this year in Philadelphia for the NL. He replaced Skenes after the ace was voted to the team, but was unable to pitch following an outing against the Brewers the Sunday before the All-Star festivities. The 2018 second-round prep pick has earned recognition in his own right, though.
Playing in his first full MLB season, Ashcraft, 26, has started 19 games and has pitched 113.1 innings. Along with his 128 strikeouts, he has a 9-3 record entering his first start following his appearance in Philadelphia and a 3.49 ERA. And although his last start at Milwaukee ended in a no-decision, the four prior to that were all wins for the Bucs. Monday will be the first time Ashcraft will face the Yankees in his career, and it’s surely a relief to not have to face Aaron Judge or Giancarlo Stanton in the process.
Tuesday — Will Warren vs. Bubba Chandler (7:05 pm Eastern)
Will Warren and Weathers have been somewhat indistinguishable at the back end of the rotation. However, both of them continue to be as important now as ever, with the Yankees waiting on the return of the two star left-handers, Max Fried and Carlos Rodón.
Like Weathers, the last five outings for Warren have been underwhelming. Three of them have been losses, and the other two were no-decisions. In fact, the last time Warren walked away from a game with a win to his name was all the way back on May 31st after six strong innings against the A’s (the same day as the 13-run inning). He went 4-1 in May, and that was his third win in a row, butit’s been downhill since June, with the Yankees going 3-4 in his last seven games.
Additionally, the last time Warren went six or more innings was that game against the A’s. The closest he got was in two straight starts — the first against Cincinnati and the second against the Red Sox — where he pitched 5.2 innings across 90 pitches each. But the start of the second half gives Warren a chance to begin somewhat anew and improve on his first-half numbers. However, he’ll have his work cut out for him on the other side of the equation.
The Pirates are going to throw out another one of their young guns who can throw absolute heat: Bubba Chandler. The 23-year-old right-hander averages 98.6 mph on his fastball, and he has another five pitches that he uses occasionally, but it’s more like a three-pitch mix than anything. The next-highest after his fastball, which sits at 47.9-percent usage, is his slider at 18.7 percent, and his changeup at just 16.9 percent. Chandler also has a sinker, a sweeper, and a curveball.
However, while he has the arsenal and the arm talent, Chandler’s first full MLB season hasn’t gone to plan. He has a 3-8 record, a 4.77 ERA, and 85 strikeouts over 94.1 innings pitched, good for a 92 ERA+. A huge problem for him has been walks, as he leads the entire league with 55 issued. So for the Yankees, if they want to help their starter out, discipline will be the key in the batter’s box.
Wednesday — Gerrit Cole vs. Mitch Keller (12:35 pm Eastern)
The final matchup between these two teams will be a Wednesday matinee with two of the team’s top-of-the-rotation starters taking the mound. For the Yankees, it’s Gerrit Cole, who, despite a great six-inning, eight-K performance against the Dodgers, had it overshadowed by a misplaced pitch to Max Muncy. In his last five starts, he has managed to pitch at least five innings, with his last two getting to six or over. However, four of his last five results and decisions have been losses.
After coming back from injury, Cole has had his ups and downs, as one would expect from an almost-36-year-old flamethrower. But despite a 3.93 ERA, the Yankees ace can certainly show his old form against his former club, and with the potential for a rubber match, there’s no better time. Interestingly, this will only be the third time in his career that Cole will face the team that drafted him with the first overall pick in 2011. He’s pitched 11 total innings and came out of those two games with a win and a 2.45 ERA. He’s tallied only seven strikeouts in those two appearances, but it’s been enough to get the job done.
As for the Pirates, it’s the right-hander Mitch Keller, who, after hearing plenty of trade rumors about him last season, has come out this season and outright struggled. In 19 games started, there hasn’t been much to write home about. A 6-7 record and a 5.14 ERA are the lowest on the team among qualified hurlers. His strikeout numbers have dropped to the second-lowest of his career, and it’s because his average fastball velocity has dropped to the lowest of his career as well.
Keller is looking for the second half of the season to start getting back on track; otherwise, things could look grim moving forward in the Steel City for the 30-year-old hurler. The 2023 All-Star is owed just over $38 million through the end of 2028.
