ST. LOUIS — A handful of hours after the MLB Trade Deadline had passed, after he delivered one of his best starts of the second half and that night’s game in Milwaukee ended on a walkoff challenge, Bubba Chandler was addressing Mitch Keller’s season-ending injury when he offered an honest assessment of Pirates starting pitchers.
“I think as a group we can be better,” Chandler said. “There were expectations coming into the year. I’m not going to say we haven’t met those expectations, but we definitely have the talent to be elite one through five. I think we’re going to start to see it turn.”
The weeks that followed didn’t produce that much-needed turn, but did the Pirates finally find something in San Diego? They might have.
Braxton Ashcraft, Paul Skenes and Chandler came within an out of delivering three quality starts, the best run of starting pitching the Pirates have experienced since well before the All-Star break.
Ashcraft set the tone with six innings of one-run ball Monday. Paul Skenes followed with a half-dozen scoreless innings Tuesday. And Chandler allowed two runs (one earned) over 5 2/3 frames Wednesday.
Add it up, and Pirates starters had a 1.02 ERA while working 17 2/3 innings, throwing 65.9% strikes and allowing zero homers. If the Pirates are going to salvage their season, it simply has to start with runs of starting pitching such as what they enjoyed in San Diego.
“I still think we can throw better,” Chandler said Wednesday. “It comes down to executing pitches when we need to execute ‘em. Just continue doing what we’re doing. Bullpen looks awesome. We’re gonna have a good stretch here soon.”
He’s right about the bullpen, by the way. That group ranks fourth with a 2.96 ERA this month, which actually ratchets up the pressure on the starters to figure this out once and for all.
The most encouraging performance came from Skenes, who didn’t issue a walk after allowing 13 free passes over his past four starts. Skenes saw a slight uptick in velocity — 97.2 mph from 96.8 on the season — and threw his sinker 17% more frequently than he has all year.
The revamped pitch mix and more connected mechanics allowed Skenes to throw first-pitch strikes to 15 of 21 batters, enjoy an eight-pitch inning and navigate a half-dozen innings on 87 pitches.
More than numbers, though, was how Skenes felt about those delivery tweaks and the fact that they seemed to improve his velocity, control and ability to consistently execute pitches.
“In years past [the changes] haven’t led to a drop in velocity,” Skenes said. “So I think it just synced up throughout this last rotation and into [Tuesday].
“It’s a good stat line. But I think the most encouraging thing was the execution.”
For the Pirates to make some sort of run, obviously they need Skenes to be Skenes, along with the offense scoring more than the four runs it plated at Petco Park.
The good news is version of Skenes looked much more like the one we’ve been accustomed to seeing as opposed to the previous one that looked worn out, had trouble commanding the zone or both.
Ashcraft, meanwhile, has been among the best pitchers in baseball this month. His past three starts have featured a 1.17 ERA over 23 innings, with just two walks and 16 strikeouts.
The right-hander keeps improving, too. On Monday, Ashcraft’s sinker — no longer an ancillary offering for him — averaging 97.8 mph, up 0.9 from its season mark. It helped Ashcraft roll his 19th and 20th double-play balls this season, most in the Major Leagues.
After pitching to a 7.78 ERA in July, Ashcraft has a 1.91 ERA and 0.61 WHIP in August, setting the tone for the entire staff.
“It’s hard to improve on a complete game and then going eight innings, but I think he’s throwing the ball really well,” Kirby Yates said. “It’s very fun to watch and it’s good to be in the bullpen, look up in the fifth inning, and he’s at 55 pitches, 60 pitches every night. You kick your feet up and appreciate that.”
As for Chandler, he’s actually been the Pirates’ best starter since the All-Star break, producing a 3-1 record and 2.95 ERA in seven starts totaling 36 2/3 innings. He’s walked 13, struck out 32 and allowed just one homer (with a .211 batting average against).
Kelly has talked a few times about Chandler’s maturity and a newfound ability to slow the game down when things get messy, a trait that will only come with time and experience.
Overall, Pirates starters have a 4.70 ERA in August, which ranks in the bottom-third of MLB and obviously falls well short of expectations. But it does offer room for improvement, steps forward that were potentially taken against the Padres.
Now, the task becomes getting the dominant version of Jared Jones more consistently and figuring out how to navigate the Carmen Mlodzinski and Co. approach for the fifth and final spot.
“They did a great job this series, and we do need them big time,” Pirates manager Don Kelly said. “I think that shows we need everybody. Starting pitching, offense, baserunning, defense. We need to play better baseball and find a way to get it done. Starting pitching is a big part of that, and we have an opportunity coming up in St. Louis to do that.”
Jason Mackey: Jason.Mackey@pirates.com and @JMackey_PGH on X.