The Pittsburgh Pirates are handing a big weekend to their rotation as they open a six-game homestand against the Boston Red Sox at PNC Park from Aug. 14-16.
Bubba Chandler gets the ball in the opener on Aug. 14, Jared Jones follows on Aug. 15 and Paul Skenes wraps up the series on Aug.
- Boston will counter with left-handers Jake Bennett and Patrick Sandoval in the first and third games, while Sonny Gray is set for the middle matchup.
Chandler has quietly become the Pirates’ most effective starter since the All-Star break, and his recent stretch makes that less surprising by the day. Over four second-half starts in 2026, he has put up a 2.05 ERA across 22.0 innings, striking out 18 while walking seven, and he’s gone 2-0.
His latest outing came Aug. 8 against the New York Mets, when he worked six scoreless innings, allowed three hits and one walk, and struck out five in a 9-0 win. That’s been a sharp turn for a pitcher who has had his struggles this year overall. Chandler carries a 4.26 ERA, is tied for third-most walks with 62, and his 4.80 BB/9 would be the highest in MLB if he qualified.
Still, the walk issues have eased lately. He has issued just one walk in three of his four starts since the break, and he’s been getting weaker contact while working more efficiently. The Pirates will be looking for that version again against Boston.
Jones, meanwhile, enters this start trying to stop a rough August from getting worse. He was the Pirates’ best pitcher in July, but this month has gone in the opposite direction. In two August starts, he has allowed 11 runs in seven innings for a 14.14 ERA, giving up 14 hits, three home runs and four walks against seven strikeouts.
His most recent outing was his toughest since returning from injury in late May, as he was tagged for a career-high eight earned runs over three innings in an 11-1 loss to the Mets on Aug. 9.
Before that, he allowed eight hits and three runs over four innings in a 4-2 loss to the Milwaukee Brewers on Aug. 4.
Jones has been hard on himself after those defeats, but he also offered a measured view of how he can climb back out of the slump.
“Yeah, I think the positive side for me at least is I put myself in a hole before this year and I dug my way out of it," Jones said. "Just going down, seeing what has physically changed or mechanically whatever has changed and go from there.”
For Jones, the path forward is pretty clear: avoid the hard contact that’s been hurting him and mix in more than the four-seam fastball and slider he has leaned on almost exclusively since early July. If he can trust his stuff and get ahead of hitters, the matchup gives him a chance to settle in.
Skenes brings the most scrutiny of the three. The Pirates needed him to be their ace this season, but 2026 has not unfolded that way. He is 9-11 in 25 starts with a 3.88 ERA over 134.2 innings, along with 166 strikeouts, 37 walks, a .228 batting average allowed and a 1.12 WHIP.
His last start was another frustrating one. Don Kelly pulled him after just 65 pitches against the Miami Marlins on Aug. 11 in a 2-0 defeat.
Skenes gave up only two runs, but the damage could have been worse. He allowed a home run and came close to surrendering two more, with Jake Mangum making a strong catch in center and Bryan Reynolds robbing one in left.
Those 65 pitches were the third-fewest he has thrown in a start this season, with the other low totals coming in a rain-delayed outing and his rough Opening Day first inning against the Mets. His fastball velocity also dipped to 95.7 mph against Miami, down from his 96.9 mph season average.
The skid for Skenes has now stretched back to mid-May. Since then, he has a 5.00 ERA over 84.2 innings in 16 starts, and the Pirates have won only three of those games. If Pittsburgh is going to make any kind of late push, it needs a lot more from him in the starts ahead.
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