WASHINGTON -- Bubba Chandler tries not to linger on the negatives, but his first Major League start on Sunday demanded some reflection once he got home from the ballpark. He had three solid outings as a bulk reliever to start his career, but his first turn as a starter was one of the rougher outings of his pro career, surrendering more runs (nine) than outs he recorded (eight).
That reflection wasn’t just going to be negative. What did he do well? Where did he struggle?
“I don't like taking bad stuff from outings,” Chandler said. “Just like, 'OK, what did I excel at today?' There were a couple things Sunday I did really well, and a lot of things I did bad. I just kind of focused on what I did well and how I can be better in the bullpens, my daily throwing, in the weight room, in the training room. Did I feel good? That kind of stuff.”
Chandler was going to get another chance to start five games later. He was bucked from the horse, and manager Don Kelly wanted to see him “jump right back on.”
“I don’t see Bubba struggle very often, so if you see one, you can bet on the next one being pretty damn good,” said Nick Yorke, who spent most of the season with Chandler in Triple-A Indianapolis.
Saturday at Nationals Park wasn’t just good: Chandler was flirting with perfection.
Chandler took a perfect-game bid into the sixth inning against the Nationals, striking out seven with 18 whiffs on 38 swings in his six inning outing. Andrew McCutchen and Yorke broke the game open in the eighth with a pair of bases-loaded singles, and the Pirates snapped a seven-game skid with a 5-1 win.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Chandler became just the fourth Pittsburgh rookie in the Expansion Era (since 1961) to carry a perfect-game bid through five frames, joining Nick Kingham (6 2/3 innings on April 29, 2018), Bruce Kison (5 2/3 innings on July 23, 1971) and Max Kranick (five innings on July 27, 2021).
It’s safe to call that a bounceback, better than even his manager expected.
“It’s hard to expect that -- perfect through five innings -- and I’m sitting there thinking it’s going to be hard to take him out of the game,” Kelly said. “Coming off of 2 2/3 [innings] and sixty-something pitches, he pitched so well. We see the competitor that he is and how he gets after it.
“Whether he’s good, bad or indifferent, he’s always showing up the same guy, intense and ready to go.”
Chandler racked up 13 whiffs with his four-seamer, tied with Andrew Heaney for the most by a Pittsburgh pitcher this season. He averaged 99.2 mph on his 45 fastballs and eclipsed 100 mph nine times. He was relentless with it up in the zone, finding lanes that it could play in and then executing triple-digit fire. When he wasn’t pumping heat, Chandler was dropping changeups to mess with the hitters' timing.
For someone who already had two Major League wins and a save under his belt, this outing on the eve of his 23rd birthday was a proper introduction of Chandler to The Show. Baseball's top pitching prospect (No. 7 overall) will surely be a National League Rookie of the Year favorite entering Spring Training, and an outing like he put together against Washington is a taste of the promise he brings to the Pirates’ staff.
Chandler’s perfect-game bid ended in the sixth on a Dylan Crews single, and Crews came home when Robert Hassell III singled in a spot that third baseman Cam Devanney had vacated to cover the bag for a potential stolen-base attempt. It was a tough-luck hit, but one that Chandler didn’t let define his outing, getting out of the jam without more damage.
“Kind of just some unlucky hits that I gave up,” Chandler said. “Kind of spiraled in the Minor Leagues with that. Happy that I didn't today. Finished that inning.”
All that’s left is how Chandler will finish the season. His name is due to be called a couple more times before the season ends, and it’s safe to assume that when he goes to his hotel tonight to reflect on the game, there will be plenty of positives to take away from the outing.
“It's what the starting pitcher needs to do,” Chandler said. “Need to go out there and give your team the best chance to win. I hope I did that, build off of it and have another one."