The Pirates finally hit a bump in the road Monday night, falling 5-0 to the Padres at PNC Park, but Tyler and Neil made it clear on the NS9 Postgame Show that this one did not feel like a reason to panic. At 6-4, coming off a sweep of the Orioles, this felt more like a frustrating clunker than some kind of red flag game. The Pirates had chances, put runners on base, and were not completely lifeless offensively. They just could not cash in when it mattered.
A big part of the conversation centered around Bubba Chandler, who lasted 4.1 innings, allowed three earned runs, walked four, and struck out four. The guys talked through the obvious concern: the walks are piling up. But they also pointed out that the raw stuff is still electric, the fastball is still a weapon, and this is still a young pitcher learning at the big league level. The bigger frustration was that Chandler leaned too heavily on the heater and did not trust the rest of his arsenal enough, especially the changeup.
They also dug into the brutal early returns from Marcell Ozuna, whose start has quickly become one of the biggest concerns in the lineup. With no real hard contact, no production, and a DH spot being tied up, the pressure is already building for him to turn it around. On the other hand, there was still optimism around Konnor Griffin, whose bat has not clicked yet but whose at-bats and defense continue to stand out. His results are not there yet, but the approach and glove have given plenty of reason to stay patient.
It was the kind of loss that is annoying in the moment but not one that should change the bigger picture. Tyler and Neil framed it the right way: the Pirates did not have their best stuff, still found some chances, and now get to hand the ball to Paul Skenes next. Catch the full episode on YouTube or listen on the podcast feed for the full postgame breakdown.
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