If all goes well, Pirates top pitching prospect Bubba Chandler will be starting games in the majors for a long time.
Chandler won’t want to remember the first start he made.
Hosting the rival Milwaukee Brewers on Sunday and looking to avoid being swept, the Pirates turned to Chandler.
The Brewers did to Chandler what they’ve done to a plethora of other teams en route to the best record in baseball.
Chandler allowed nine earned runs on nine hits and two walks through 2.2 innings. He struck out three but
allowed runs in all three frames.
The Brewers scored four in the first, one in the second, and four in the third inning, all with Bubba in the game. Chandler didn’t allow a home run, but a pair of doubles, two singles, a wild pitch, and two productive outs
Chandler threw 43 of his 68 pitches for strikes during the Bucs’ 10-2 loss Sunday.
He didn’t allow a run during his first two relief appearances, spanning eight innings with three hits, 1 walk, and three strikeouts.
In his Sept. 2 outing against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Chandler allowed three runs and two homers, but didn’t walk a batter after he entered the third.
What made the day worse was Brewers star rookie Jacob Misiorowski dominating the Bucs through seven innings. Misiorowski allowed one run, five base runners, and struck out eight on 108 pitches.
The Pirates were swept by Milwaukee after sweeping the Dodgers. The oddities of baseball strikes. Pittsburgh travels to Baltimore and Camden Yards on Tuesday at 6:35 p.m.
