Bubba Chandler makes history with 4-inning save in debut as Pirates shut out Rockies

It was appropriate that the Pittsburgh Pirates issued the No. 57 jersey to Bubba Chandler, as the major-league debut of baseball’s top pitching prospect was like the Heinz ketchup commercial: All about anticipation.

Despite waiting for months at Triple-A Indianapolis for a promotion, Chandler swore that he wasn’t fueled by frustration. Instead, he was inspired to show why he was worth his weight, if not the wait.

The 22-year-old Chandler didn’t disappoint, pitching out of the bullpen in the sixth inning and coming tantalizingly close to triple digits on his first strikeout before topping it on his second punchout.

What Braxton Ashcraft started, Chandler finished as the rookie right-handers combined for a shutout in a 9-0 win over the Colorado Rockies on Friday night before 22,826 at PNC Park.

“It was great, everything you could imagine,” Chandler said, adding that he had to turn up the volume on his PitchCom because he couldn’t hear catcher Henry Davis’ pitch calls. “They said my name and major-league debut. This is kind of all I remember. And then I blacked out in the first inning, but I just kind of heard the place go crazy. …That was really cool. I’ll never forget. I’ll cherish it forever. I want to thank the Pirates for making a dream come true.”

This night belonged to Chandler, who had three strikeouts and allowed two hits in four innings to become the first player in MLB history to pitch four scoreless innings for a save in his debut. The 6-foot-3, 218-pounder threw strikes on 29 of 40 pitches and had fans chanting “Bubba” as he conducted an on-field postgame interview.

“It feels great, kind of everything I’ve dreamed of,” Chandler said. “The past 22 years, it’s just been, ‘I want to be on a major-league field.’ And whether it was hitting or pitching, just wanted to be in the game and show what God gave me — and I believe I did that.”

Ashcraft held the Rockies to one hit and one walk while striking out six on 65 pitches in five scoreless innings before being relieved in the sixth. With Chandler cooking, Pirates manager Don Kelly let him finish the game.

“My goodness,” Kelly said. “With Ash starting, as good as he was, and then Bubba coming in behind, when you talk about efficient and dominating the strike zone, both of those guys, that’s a bright future right there. They sure didn’t look like (rookies) out there. Ash has been really good. He’s shown that. For Bubba, major-league debut, to go out and show that kind of stuff. The fastball and then the ability to pitch, too, the off-speed and the strikeout with the changeup. They both did a phenomenal job.”

The Pirates pounded 10 of their 14 hits for extra bases, including three home runs, in a complete performance that was worthy of the night’s festivities. Prior to first pitch, the Pirates honored their 2025 Hall of Fame inductees: KiKi Cuyler, Vernon Law and Al Oliver.

It was a night of redemption, given that the Pirates had scored eight runs in two-thirds of an inning off Antonio Senzatela only to twice blow nine-run leads in a 17-16 loss on Aug. 1 at Coors Field. This time, the Rockies right-hander allowed five runs on eight hits and three walks with four strikeouts over four innings.

“Let’s not forget that we swung the bats pretty well, too,” Kelly said.

Senzatela was tagged for two runs in the first frame when Nick Gonzales singled to left and Tommy Pham drew a two-out walk and both scored on Andrew McCutchen’s double to left. Jack Suwinski walked and Jared Triolo singled to load the bases, but Henry Davis went down swinging to end the inning.

In the second, Isiah Kiner-Falefa hit a leadoff double down the right-field line and scored on a double to left by Spencer Horwitz for a 3-0 lead. Pham drew another two-out walk, and McCutchen followed with another two-run double to increase the lead to 5-0.

“As a pitcher, you can’t ever let run support dictate what you do on the mound,” Ashcraft said. “With that, it allows for you to pitch a little bit differently whenever you go up early, especially with runners on base.”

Chandler channeled that mentality. Orlando Arcia fouled off his first pitch, a 98.9-mph fastball, before taking a 97.9-mph fastball for a ball. Arcia drilled the third pitch, a 98.6-mph four-seamer, off the left field wall for a leadoff double.

Chandler started mixing his pitches, using his curveball and slider to set up Ryan Ritter to go down looking at a 99.9-mph fastball on the outside corner. After Tyler Freeman grounded out to second to advance Arcia to third, Chandler turned up the heat. He sandwiched a pair of 99-mph fastballs around a 90.9-mph slider before blowing a 100.4-mph fastball past Mickey Moniak, who swung at the pitch above the strike zone.

The Pirates padded their lead in the bottom of the sixth, which started with Spencer Horwitz hammering his sixth home run. Bryan Reynolds drilled a double off the right-center wall, and Pham followed by connecting on a 1-0 fastball 435 feet to left field for a two-run homer and 8-0 lead.

Chandler needed only seven pitches (five for strikes) to retire the side in the seventh. He began the eighth by hitting Braxton Fulford with a fastball, but got Yanquiel Fernandez to ground into a 6-3 double play and fooled Arcia with his changeup for his third strikeout. Chandler said he wasn’t aware that he had touched triple digits.

“I was trying to find my parents, where they were sitting, wasn’t really paying attention to what was going on,” Chandler said, cursing the pitch clock with a laugh for disrupting his timing. “The only pitch I looked at was the strikeout to Arcia. I was like, ‘Dang, that felt good coming out of the hand. That was a great pitch.’”

Alexander Canario, who replaced Bryan Reynolds, sent lefty Lucas Gilbreath’s first-pitch fastball 426 feet into the right-center seats for his fourth home run to increase the Pirates’ lead to 9-0 in the eighth.

In the ninth, Chandler gave up a leadoff single to Ritter and a fly ball to the warning track in left to Freeman before getting Moniak to fly out to left and Warming Bernabel to center on his final pitch, which was clocked on the radar gun at 100 mph.

Chandler laughed at how he started to walk off the field after recording the final out, only to realize that the game was over and it was time to celebrate. Chandler admitted he was mad about having to remain in the minors most of the season but shrugged off his struggles with a “whatever” and found no reason to complain.

“I think the Pirates have a very good plan for every single person in this clubhouse, every single person in this organization and, you know, you can complain all you want,” Chandler said. “In the end, I’m here, in the big leagues. There’s not a lot of 22-year-old kids that get to do this. I’m grateful. I was mad, yeah, whatever. But, at the same time, I didn’t take care of what I needed to take care of, so that falls back on me. Now I’m here. Don’t care.”