Rangers jump on Bubba Chandler early, cruise to another win against Pirates

Colin Beazley, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Apr 23, 2026

Published in Baseball

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ARLINGTON, Texas — On the night the NFL draft began, the Texas Rangers picked on an almost-Clemson QB.

The Rangers jumped all over Bubba Chandler, the one-time college football recruit turned Pirates rookie, tagging the right-hander with six runs in four innings in a 6-1 Rangers win on Thursday night at Globe Life Field.

Chandler struggled with both command and hard contact. He allowed seven hits while also walking three and hitting a batter. He threw 78 pitches, 46 for strikes, and struck out four.

He was outdueled by Rangers veteran Jacob deGrom, who struck out 10 Pirates in 5 2/3 innings. DeGrom made only one mistake, a hanging curveball that Oneil Cruz hit into the Rangers bullpen for a solo homer in the fifth.

Chandler allowed contact early but looked like he might get away with it. He stranded the bases loaded in the first and left two more in the second before things started to slip in the third.

After two quick outs, Chandler allowed a single to Rangers third baseman Josh Jung. Evan Carter followed with a fly ball to right center, one Ryan O’Hearn couldn’t track down. The ball ricocheted hard off the wall into center field, and by the time Cruz could gather it, Carter was rounding third on the way to a two-run inside-the-park homer.

It all unraveled in the fourth. Chandler started the inning by walking the No. 8 and 9 hitters in the Texas lineup, struck out Brandon Nimmo then allowed an RBI single to Joc Pederson. Chandler then left a change-up belt-high that Corey Seager launched over the right-field wall for a three-run homer, putting the Rangers ahead 6-0.

The Pirates are 6-6 in their last 12 games. They have not won, nor lost, consecutive games since April 11.

It was over when ...

... the Pirates couldn’t take advantage of their first rally after deGrom left the game. In the top of the sixth, they loaded the bases with a deGrom walk then a walk and a hit batter from reliever Gavin Collyer. But Konnor Griffin’s grounder up the line was snagged by a diving Jung, and his throw to first barely beat Griffin to the bag.

On the mound

The Pirates bullpen did well to post zeroes after Chandler departed, though the game had largely been decided. Evan Sisk, pitching on his 29th birthday, threw two hitless innings. He walked two and struck out two.

Justin Lawrence completed a scoreless seventh, his fourth consecutive scoreless outing and his second without allowing a walk or hitting a batter.

At the plate

Cruz is up to eight homers. Just four Pirates have hit eight or more homers in March and April since 1901: Willie Stargell’s 11 in 1971, Jeff King’s nine in 1996 and eight homers from Cruz in 2025 and now 2026. The Pirates still have seven games in March.

Nick Gonzales went 2 for 3 with two singles and a walk. Apart from his singles and Cruz’s blast, the Pirates mustered little offense.

Most valuable player

Seager went 2 for 4 with the big swing, but Carter deserves mention for a strong series. He took a homer away from Cruz on Tuesday, then hit one of his own on Thursday. Neither ball left the yard.

Up next

There’s no rest for the Pirates, as they head to Milwaukee for a three-game series against the Brewers that begins Friday. The series kicks off a stretch of 10 games in 10 days, all against NL Central opponents.

Paul Skenes (3-1, 3.27 ERA) will start for the Pirates against Brewers right-hander Brandon Woodruff (2-0, 3.42), with first pitch scheduled for 7:40 p.m. Friday.