Pirates' Bubba Chandler Dominates Against Athletics

Chandler started off with his four-seam fastball early on, using it in 10 of his first 12 pitches and reaching as high as 100.9 mph and no lower than 98.9 mph. He established his most dominant pitch early on in the outing, using it to strike out Athletics center fielder Lawrence Butler to start the game.

“Yeah. [Henry] Hank [Davis] told me before the game that, ‘This is what we’re going to do. This is how we’re going to attack.’ Yeah it was coming out really good in the first [inning]," Chandler said. "Just tried to execute top of the zone when I needed to and get the other pitches in zone. Felt nice.”

While Chandler threw his fastball 35 times in his outing, he also threw 33 offspeed pitches and didn't stray away from them early on.

He got Athletics designated hitter Brent Rooker with a slider down and away, after throwing four fastballs prior, and then struck out first baseman Nick Kurtz on a change up to end the first inning, striking out the side.

Chandler said that while you don't want to give away your entire pitching arsenal, you need to use them effectively, crediting catcher Henry Davis for the help doing that.

“Yeah, you never want to use too many pitches early, of course," Chandler said. "You don’t want to show the hitters too much. We picked and choosed our spots to throw those pitches and you always set them up good. Hank, never not gonna shake that guy off. He puts so much work into the game. He has more trust in you than you do yourself most of the time. So that was part of the reason."

Chandler also excelled with his changeup, throwing it 18 times, second most behind his fastball.

He also used it primarily against left-handed batters, 16 of his changeups coming against them, including four in his strikeout of Kurtz and got right fielder JJ Bleday out twice with it.

“I have a lot of confidence in it," Chandler said on his changeup. "It’s a pitch I really’ve worked on hard over the years. Have had success with it at pretty much every level and up here, it’s a pitch that, when I go to throw it, I expect something good to happen. Whether it’s a strike, strikeout, groundball. Hank does a good job of limiting the usage on it and then when we really need it, here it is. I’ve had command with it, which is what you really need with any pitch, but that pitch, it’s a good one.”

Chandler struggled in his first MLB start at PNC Park, giving up nine earned runs against the Milwaukee Brewers over 2.2 innings in a 10-2 defeat on Sept. 7.

The Brewers hit .700 off of his fastball and he got smarter with his use of his heater and his offspeed in his next start vs. the Washington Nationals at Nationals Park on Sept. 13, where he had five perfect innings, before giving up a run in the seventh inning, and striking out seven batters.

Chandler also utilized the bottom of the zone more often then before against the Athletics, with his use of the changeup and the slider, which set up his fastball better and gave him better results, again crediting Davis for his work behind the plate.

“When guys start keying on heaters and when you execute in bottoms and offspeed, you have to start going down there and then, once you start going down there, you go back up to the heater," Chandler said. "It’s just kind of a cat-and-mouse game as a pitcher. I think I did a good job of that. I think Hank did a good job of that of instilling in my head early that, ‘This is what we’re going to do. This is our plan and if they adjust to it, we’ll adjust, but until then just throw at where I put the glove at.’"