Pirates' Bubba Chandler bashed by Brewers in first big-league start

Noah Hiles, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Sep 7, 2025

Published in Baseball

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PITTSBURGH — Bubba Chandler should be thankful his first big-league start coincided with the first Sunday of the 2025 NFL schedule. Because of the Steelers’ season opener, fewer people likely witnessed his afternoon to forget.

The game’s top pitching prospect struggled mightily, surrendering nine runs in less than three innings of work, paving the way for a 10-2 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers at PNC Park. The loss secured a sweep for Milwaukee, marking the 10th time the Pirates have been swept this year.

“The command wasn’t there at all,” manager Don Kelly said of Chandler. “It seemed like he got off track a bit. The second inning was a lot better, but then he went back to the same thing in the third. They’ve got a tough offense, a grindy offense. They put up a lot or runs for a reason. It’s a tough lineup to navigate.”

Chandler’s outing was a disaster from the very beginning.

The first five batters he faced reached base safely. Four of them came around to score before an out was recorded. He surrendered an additional run in the second due to a wild pitch. Milwaukee then tagged him for four more in the top of the third, bringing Chandler’s day to an early and unfortunate end. He was the game’s losing pitcher, marking his first loss as a big leaguer.

The ugly outcome will be one Chandler looks to grow from.

“You don’t want your first start going like that,” Chandler said. “You don’t want any start going like that. I hate that I screwed up the bullpen. I’ll try to get after it next week and learn from it. It just sucks.”

Following an inconsistent showing in Triple-A, Chandler joined the Pirates last month. He flashed his potential throughout three relief appearances, two of them being scoreless, four-inning efforts. The Pirates felt as though their No. 2 prospect was ready for the next step. But Sunday showed he still has a lot to learn.

“He’s shown the ability to learn so far,” Kelly said. “He’s only had four outings. I’m sure he will learn something through all of them. He will continue to do that.”

It was over when ...

... Jake Bauers doubled home Milwaukee’s first two runs. The knock scored Brice Turang and Isaac Collins, who both reached on singles. Bauers’ hit also put the next two runs in position to score.

The first, William Contreras, came home in the next at-bat on a single from Andrew Vaughn. The next was Bauers, who crossed home on a double-play ball, the first two outs of the game.

On the mound

Colin Holderman took over for Chandler with a man on first and one out remaining in the top of the third inning. The right-hander successfully prevented any further damage, throwing 1 1/3 scoreless innings of relief. Dauri Moreta followed, posting zeros in both the fifth and sixth.

“They slowed things down,” Kelly said of his bullpen. “ ... That was really big for us to get us to the back end.”

Milwaukee’s offense woke up again in the seventh, scoring its 10th run of the game off Yohan Ramirez. Isaac Mattson and Dennis Santana then finished the game, throwing scoreless innings in the eighth and ninth, respectively.

At the plate

Brewers’ rookie right-hander Jacob Misiorowski had no such troubles on the mound. The 23-year-old All-Star held the Pirates to just one run over seven innings, the longest outing of his major league career.

That run was scored in the bottom of the second. Andrew McCutchen led the frame off with a double and was singled home later on by Liover Peguero. A single from Bryan Reynolds in the next inning would mark Pittsburgh’s third and final hit against the Brewers’ starter.

“He got into a groove and really started locating that heater away, and the slider off of it made it really tough,” Kelly said.

Misiorowski struck out eight batters and walked two. He was the game’s winning pitcher, improving to 5-2 on the season.

The Pirates added another run in the eighth after Misiorowski’s exit. Ji Hwan Bae, who was recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis prior to the start of Sunday’s game, led the inning off with a walk. Cam Devanney brought him home with a pinch-hit double, making the score 10-2.

Most valuable player

Vaughn, who ended the day 4 for 5 with a double, an RBI and a run scored.

Up next

The Pirates have Monday off. They will start a three-game series Tuesday against the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards. First pitch is scheduled for 6:35 p.m. ET. Mike Burrows (2-4, 4.08 ERA) and Kyle Bradish (0-1, 3.60) will face off on the mound.

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