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Bubba Chandler Bubba Chandler Labors in no-decision
Sat, Sep 19, 2026, 9:46 PM
Chandler did not factor into the decision in Saturday's 6-5 win over the Royals, allowing three runs on eight hits and one walk with six strikeouts over four innings.
Analysis: Chandler entered the fifth inning with a 4-1 lead but allowed the first two batters he faced to reach, departing at 90 pitches before both inherited runners ultimately came around to score. It marked just the third time in 11 second-half starts that the 24-year-old was unable to complete at least five frames, though he's now yielded a homer in four straight outings. He owns a 4.34 ERA, 1.37 WHIP and 138:76 K:BB across 151.1 innings and will close out his full year in the majors in Detroit next weekend. |
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Mason Montgomery Mason Montgomery Secures 15th save
Sat, Sep 19, 2026, 9:38 PM
Montgomery earned the save in Saturday's 6-5 win over the Royals, allowing no hits and one walk with one strikeout in a scoreless ninth inning.
Analysis: Montgomery was called upon to protect a one-run lead in the ninth inning and worked around a leadoff walk to close things out. It continued a ridiculous second half for the 26-year-old, who's yielded just two earned runs while converting all 14 of his save opportunities in 28 appearances since the All-Star break. On the season, he owns 15 saves and nine holds to go along with a 2.63 ERA, 1.03 WHIP and 98:26 K:BB across 65 innings. |
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Henry Davis Henry Davis Making impact at plate
Sat, Sep 19, 2026, 9:17 AM
Davis went 1-for-3 with a double, a walk and an RBI against the Royals on Friday.
Analysis: Davis started behind the plate for the second consecutive game and made an impact at the plate in both contests. He popped his 10th home run of the season Thursday and then provided an insurance run with an infield single Friday. Davis is still having a poor offensive season overall, but he has set career-high marks in homers, RBI and runs scored. |
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Spencer Horwitz Spencer Horwitz Starting to get on track
Sat, Sep 19, 2026, 9:13 AM
Horwitz went 2-for-3 with a walk, two RBI and two runs scored Friday against the Royals.
Analysis: Horwitz delivered a two-RBI single in the seventh inning to give the Pirates a lead they wouldn't relinquish. He has struggled significantly since returning in early August, as he's hit just .182 with 13 RBI and seven runs scored across 34 games. However, Horwitz has started to turn things around of late, hitting .333 with five RBI and three runs scored in his last seven contests. |
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Konnor Griffin Konnor Griffin Four hits in Friday's win
Sat, Sep 19, 2026, 8:49 AM
Griffin went 4-for-5 with a run scored and two RBI in Friday's 8-5 win over the Royals.
Analysis: All four knocks were singles, but the precocious shortstop still did his job from the top of the order as part of a 15-hit barrage from the Bucs. Griffin is having a strong finish to his first MLB campaign, and over the last 10 games the 20-year-old sports a .311/.354/.422 slash line with three doubles, a triple, two steals, six runs and six RBI. |
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Gregory Soto Gregory Soto Nabs 15th save
Sat, Sep 19, 2026, 8:46 AM
Soto gave up a hit and struck out two in a scoreless ninth inning Friday to record his 15th save of the season in an 8-5 win over the Royals.
Analysis: Mason Montgomery threw 29 pitches Thursday, so Soto got his old job back for a night as he picked up his first save since Aug. 1. Soto remains prone to meltdowns, and while he's blanked the opposition in five of his seven September appearances, he still has a 10.13 ERA in 5.1 innings on the month. On the season, the veteran southpaw has a 3.78 ERA, 1.17 WHIP and 76:28 K:BB through 64.1 frames with six wins and 13 holds in addition to his saves. |
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Paul Skenes Paul Skenes Fans seven in Friday's no-decision
Sat, Sep 19, 2026, 8:43 AM
Skenes didn't factor into the decision in Friday's 8-5 win over the Royals, giving up five runs on six hits and a walk over six innings. He struck out seven.
Analysis: The 24-year-old righty had trouble keeping the ball in the yard, serving up solo shots to Vinnie Pasquantino in the first inning and Michael Massey in the fourth, but it was a three-run third that accounted for most of the damage against Skenes. The would-be ace has unexpectedly crashed back to earth in 2026, and he's been tagged for five runs in four of his last 10 starts, limping to a 4.96 ERA, 1.33 WHIP and 54:21 K:BB over 52.2 innings during that stretch. Skenes will try to head into the offseason with some momentum when he makes his final start of the year at home next week against the Cardinals. |
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Braxton Ashcraft Braxton Ashcraft Return this season ruled out
Fri, Sep 18, 2026, 3:46 PM
Ashcraft (arm) played catch Friday but is not expected to return this season, Kevin Gorman of TribLive.com reports.
Analysis: Ashcraft landed on the 15-day injured list last week with right arm discomfort. He received multiple medical opinions and his injury is not considered serious, but the Pirates will not push the right-hander to return before the end of the season. Ashcraft had a breakout year for Pittsburgh, logging a 3.65 ERA, 1.09 WHIP and 173:35 K:BB over 165.1 innings covering 28 starts. |
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Jake Mangum Jake Mangum Out of lineup again Friday
Fri, Sep 18, 2026, 2:25 PM
Mangum is not in the lineup for Friday's game against the Royals.
Analysis: He's now been out of the lineup for two straight contests after starting each of the six tilts prior to that. Ronny Simon will play right field for the Pirates in the series opener. |
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Rafael Flores Jr. Rafael Flores Jr. Exiting starting lineup
Fri, Sep 18, 2026, 1:54 PM
Flores is not in the lineup for Friday's game versus the Royals.
Analysis: After starting each of the previous four contests, Flores will exit the lineup for Friday's series opener. Henry Davis will do the catching for the Pirates. |
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Mason Montgomery Mason Montgomery Up to 14 saves
Thu, Sep 17, 2026, 3:04 PM
Montgomery earned the save Thursday in a 7-4 win over the Brewers, allowing two walks while striking out two over 1.1 scoreless innings.
Analysis: It was another strong performance from Montgomery, who's been nearly untouchable since late July. The southpaw's now delivered 21.2 straight scoreless innings, allowing just eight hits while striking out 32 in that span. Montgomery has converted 14 saves this season while working to a 2.67 ERA with a 1.03 WHIP and 97:25 K:BB across 64 innings. |
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Jake Mangum Jake Mangum Receiving breather Thursday
Thu, Sep 17, 2026, 10:07 AM
Mangum is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Brewers.
Analysis: After starting in each of the last six games while going 4-for-22 with a double, a walk and a stolen base, Mangum will get a break as the Pirates wrap up their series with the Brewers. Ronny Simon will replace Mangum in the starting nine, manning right field while batting seventh. |
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Jacob Gonzalez Jacob Gonzalez Idle for series finale
Thu, Sep 17, 2026, 10:05 AM
Gonzalez is out of the lineup for Thursday's game against the Brewers.
Analysis: With left-hander Kyle Harrison on the bump for the Brewers, the left-handed-hitting Gonzalez will retreat to the bench for the third time in four games. Jared Triolo will spell Gonzalez at third base and will bat eighth. |
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Ryan O'Hearn Ryan O'Hearn Taking seat versus lefty
Thu, Sep 17, 2026, 9:47 AM
O'Hearn is not in the lineup for Thursday's contest against the Brewers.
Analysis: O'Hearn has gone 4-for-17 with one home run in five games since coming back from the injured list. He'll get a breather during Thursday's afternoon tilt, with Rafael Flores slotting in at first base and Nick Gonzales serving as the Pirates' designated hitter. |
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Wilber Dotel Wilber Dotel Starting Thursday
Wed, Sep 16, 2026, 9:58 PM
Dotel will start Thursday's game against the Brewers, Danny Demilio of PittsburghBaseballNow.com reports.
Analysis: Dotel will be making his second start of the season as the Pirates lean on their bullpen to get through Thursday's affair. The 23-year-old righty gave up three runs while pitching two innings during his first start Friday against the Cubs, and he will likely handle a similar workload Thursday. |
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Jared Jones Jared Jones Strikes out nine in no-decision
Wed, Sep 16, 2026, 9:14 PM
Jones didn't factor into the decision Wednesday against the Brewers, allowing three runs on seven hits and a walk across five innings. He struck out nine.
Analysis: Jones has now recorded eight or more strikeouts in each of his last three outings. Prior to Wednesday, the right-hander had delivered 13 straight scoreless innings in his previous two starts, allowing just four hits in that span. Through 19 starts (90.2 innings) this season, Jones sports a 4.17 ERA with a 1.19 WHIP and 109:31 K:BB. He's tentatively lined up to face the Cardinals at home his next time out. |
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Nick Gonzales Nick Gonzales Out of Pittsburgh lineup
Wed, Sep 16, 2026, 2:35 PM
Gonzales is not in the lineup for Wednesday's contest against the Brewers.
Analysis: The Pirates will go with Jacob Gonzalez at third base. Gonzales is slashing .303/.411/.368 across his last 90 plate appearances for Pittsburgh. |
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Spencer Horwitz Spencer Horwitz Exiting starting nine
Wed, Sep 16, 2026, 2:31 PM
Horwitz is absent from the lineup for Wednesday's game versus the Brewers.
Analysis: It's the first time since April that a healthy Horwitz did not start a contest against a right-hander. Ryan O'Hearn will play first base as the Pirate take on Brewers righty Logan Henderson. |
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Rafael Flores Jr. Rafael Flores Jr. Four hits in Tuesday's loss
Wed, Sep 16, 2026, 9:35 AM
Flores went 4-for-4 in Tuesday's 5-1 loss to the Brewers.
Analysis: All four knocks were singles, but it was still an impressive way for Flores to extend his hitting streak to nine games. During that span, the 25-year-old catcher is batting .441 (15-for-34) with a double and a homer but just two runs and two RBI as the Pittsburgh offense as a whole has struggled over the final weeks of the season -- Tuesday marked the sixth time in 13 September contests that the Pirates scored two runs or fewer. |
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Brandon Lowe Brandon Lowe Clubs homer No. 30
Wed, Sep 16, 2026, 9:29 AM
Lowe went 1-for-5 with a solo home run in Tuesday's 5-1 loss to the Brewers.
Analysis: The second baseman supplied the only offense for the Pirates when he bashed a DL Hall fastball off the right-field foul pole in the eighth inning. It was Lowe's 30th homer of the season, marking the third time in his career he's reached that plateau, and he's been locked in to close out the campaign. Over his last 14 games, Lowe has delivered a .346/.424/.558 slash line with two doubles, three home runs, six RBI and 10 runs. |
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