Thanks to Gregory Soto shutting the door and earning his 10th save, the Pirates’ game Saturday effectively ended with a thud — only this time it was actually a good thing.
The 97-mph sinker that cracked Spencer Horwitz in the shin knocked in the go-ahead run, making a 3-2 victory over the Marlins at PNC Park possible.
But it was a combination of prior happenings that could matter most for the Pirates.
Yohan Ramirez striking out three in the eighth to end the inning in dramatic fashion, for example. Or Tyler Callihan igniting a two-out rally with a single, the bottom of the order setting the table for Horwitz’s hit-by-pitch.
The biggest for me: Bubba Chandler's progress. Not only the 5 2/3 innings of two-run ball he gave the Pirates (36-35) but that things are finally trending in the right direction for the 23-year-old right-hander.
After a four-start stretch where he had a 6.00 ERA, Chandler has allowed just four earned runs over 11 innings (3.27 ERA) over his last two games.
“It was a good day,” Chandler said. “Pounded the zone, letting them kind of make mistakes. Making good pitches and executing some pitches.”
Chandler walked one and struck out six, using four different pitches to do it. It was a wider range of options than Chandler typically employs, and it resulted in 13 whiffs and first-pitch strikes to 17 of 22.
Manager Don Kelly thought Chandler kept his emotions in check and that he's been able to slow the game down over his past two starts, seemingly signs of Chandler maturing. He also using breaking stuff early in counts, throwing it for strikes, and setting up his elite fastball as the putaway pitch.
Whatever works, right?
The biggest difference with Chandler from this seat involves how frequently and effectively he's been pounding the strike zone, something all Pirates pitchers need to do more. Chandler threw 56 of 84 pitches for strikes (66.7%) against the Marlins, continuing a theme from Atlanta (56 of 88, 63.6%).
“I thought Bubba threw the ball great,” Kelly said.
Things got a little hairy for the Pirates in the sixth. Chandler walked Otto Lopez after having him down 1-2 and hit Kyle Stowers when he was ahead, 0-2. That was enough to prompt Kelly to go to Mason Montgomery, who gave up a game-tying single to Heriberto Hernandez.
The Pirates bullpen entered this one with a 6.53 ERA since May 27, so it was certainly easy to question why Kelly was so eager to get to that group. But we’ve also seen when Chandler’s control wanes, so does his effectiveness.
Either way, this was an important step forward for Chandler, whose progress is a huge part of the Pirates starting rotation delivering on expectations. It was good to see him pound the zone with confidence and give the Pirates the length they needed.
Following Montgomery, the Ramirez Experience was something else. He was the arsonist and fireman. After allowing a single and a walk, Ramirez registered three straight strikeouts. He also left the mound prematurely twice: once because he lost track of the outs, another on a challenge.
Still, Ramirez came through in a big spot.
"I thought he did a great job of slowing things down and finding a way to get through that inning," Kelly said.
While Chandler and Ramirez have been criticized for their strike-throwing, or lack thereof, Bryan Reynolds has endured the same level of heat with his defense. This week he has pushed back on those opinions, the latest coming when he robbed a third home run this homestead.
Reynolds tracked back and reached up and snagged a fly ball off the bat of Hernandez in the fourth, displaying continued mastery of the six-foot wall out there.
“This homestand has been really impressive the way that he’s played left and he’s gotten better as an outfielder over his time here with the Pirates," Kelly said. "He works really hard at trying to get better."
“I’m always evolving,” Reynolds said, starting to laugh. “Kind of amoeba-like.”
The Pirates could use a little of that right now. Callihan finished with two hits and teamed with Jake Mangum to spark the bottom of the lineup. Jared Triolo, who had struck out his previous four at-bats, drew a clutch, two-out walk in the eighth.
Reynolds doubled home Horwitz in the third inning to extend his on-base streak to 20 games, hitting .319 with a .967 OPS that includes seven doubles and three home runs during the streak.
With Konnor Griffin and Oneil Cruz out, the Pirates obviously need all the help they can get offensively.
“Nobody’s going to replace Oneil Cruz’s power or Konnor Griffin’s speed,” Kelly said. “But if we’re able to have good at-bats, find a way to walk or get a base hit the other way … when we’ve been good, we’ve been able to stack those and score runs that lead to wins.”
There was nothing overly flashy about the Pirates win Saturday. They had one extra-base hit. They had a lead, lost it, then reclaimed it when Horwitz was hit by a pitch. But as Bill Cowher famously said, they can’t all be Mozarts.
Chandler set the tone. Now, Pirates have a chance to earn a series victory Sunday with Paul Skenes on the hill.
And if Chandler can keep his current trend going, dropping his ERA to 4.76 and looking more like the guy we expected to see, it could be a huge spark for this rotation.
Jason Mackey: Jason.Mackey@pirates.com and @JMackey_PGH on X.