Bubba Chandler’s afternoon at PNC Park was supposed to look like progress. Instead, in the Pirates’, 6-0, loss to the Phillies, it looked like the same problem all over again: loud stuff, shaky command and too much damage he created for himself.
Chandler lasted three innings, allowed four earned runs, three hits and walked four, and the line told the story well enough. He worked from behind too often, throwing 41 of his 73 pitches for strikes and first pitch strikes to seven of 16 hitters.
It appeared Chandler could've tried for another inning, though Don Kelly said, "Yeah, it was a tough start there in the first couple innings throwing 60-some pitches in two innings. To get him out after the third, it was really just pitch count and volume and he slipped on the mound there. Just didn't want to push it there any further, we had enough to get through the game in the bullpen."
He never fully settled in after a chaotic first inning, punctuated by Bryce Harper’s three-run homer — a 457-foot shot to the base of the batter’s eye in center on a 97-mph four-seam fastball that left the bat at 111 mph.
"They're good players," Chandler said. "Watched them play for the last decade. I mean they're all three really good, but just soft, just pitching away, just not being who I am."
That’s the concern with Chandler right now. The fastball still has life with an average of 98-mph, and the secondary pitches still flash with a 42-inch drop on his curveball, but none of it plays the way it should when he’s pitching from bad counts and handing out free bases. His season numbers (15.6% walk rate) already pointed to command as the biggest issue, and this start only reinforced it.
Chandler on his performance and if he's searching for his command: "Yeah, just being soft. That's about it. I'm not searching for anything. I've had success here. Just not doing what I do."
For Chandler, that’s still the line between promise and production. The arm strength is obvious, but until he limits the walks and stops turning manageable innings into stressful ones, starts like this will keep feeling less like a bump in the road and more like a pattern.
THE ASYLUM
Chandler's lack of command keeps hurting him
Bubba Chandler’s afternoon at PNC Park was supposed to look like progress. Instead, in the Pirates’, 6-0, loss to the Phillies, it looked like the same problem all over again: loud stuff, shaky command and too much damage he created for himself.
Chandler lasted three innings, allowed four earned runs, three hits and walked four, and the line told the story well enough. He worked from behind too often, throwing 41 of his 73 pitches for strikes and first pitch strikes to seven of 16 hitters.
It appeared Chandler could've tried for another inning, though Don Kelly said, "Yeah, it was a tough start there in the first couple innings throwing 60-some pitches in two innings. To get him out after the third, it was really just pitch count and volume and he slipped on the mound there. Just didn't want to push it there any further, we had enough to get through the game in the bullpen."
He never fully settled in after a chaotic first inning, punctuated by Bryce Harper’s three-run homer — a 457-foot shot to the base of the batter’s eye in center on a 97-mph four-seam fastball that left the bat at 111 mph.
"They're good players," Chandler said. "Watched them play for the last decade. I mean they're all three really good, but just soft, just pitching away, just not being who I am."
That’s the concern with Chandler right now. The fastball still has life with an average of 98-mph, and the secondary pitches still flash with a 42-inch drop on his curveball, but none of it plays the way it should when he’s pitching from bad counts and handing out free bases. His season numbers (15.6% walk rate) already pointed to command as the biggest issue, and this start only reinforced it.
Chandler on his performance and if he's searching for his command: "Yeah, just being soft. That's about it. I'm not searching for anything. I've had success here. Just not doing what I do."
For Chandler, that’s still the line between promise and production. The arm strength is obvious, but until he limits the walks and stops turning manageable innings into stressful ones, starts like this will keep feeling less like a bump in the road and more like a pattern.
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