The Pittsburgh Pirates have played rather well to start the season, currently at 14-11, though it's unfortunate they are two games behind the first-place Chicago Cubs and in fourth place in the National League Central.
That's just the unfortunate part of how well the Central has played to start the year, but there's nothing the Pirates can do other than go out there and do what's needed on both sides of the baseball.
That wasn't the case Thursday night, as Bubba Chandler couldn't get it done at a high enough level to help his team win. Chandler got lit up by the Texas Rangers, allowing seven hits and also walking three hitters in just four innings of work.
Instead of making excuses after the game, the right-hander came out and said what everybody hoped that he would say, admitting that he needs to be better for his team moving forward, as he's had some average starts to begin the year.
“Didn’t execute a lot of pitches. Did some. But made a lot of mistakes,” Chandler said, per MLB.com. “They hit the ball well [Thursday]. Gotta move on. That’s all I can do.”
While Chandler has allowed at least three earned runs in 5.1 innings or less in three of his five outings, the Pirates and skipper Don Kelly don't seem too worried about it just yet.
“He’s an elite young pitcher,” Kelly said. “It’s about learning through these moments and what he needs to do to slow the game down, in those moments find ways to attack and get outs.”
Chandler is hopeful that he can figure things out, and he's confident in his ability to throw at the highest level. He said that he's going to look back on the film and do what's needed to keep getting better. Hopefully, that will be the case, as Pittsburgh had high hopes for him.
“I’m gonna look back at video and see if there was something off, whether it was mentality or mechanics,” Chandler said. “I’m capable of throwing well. Didn’t do it tonight. Wake up in the morning and onto St. Louis for my next start, care about that, go out there and dominate them.”