Pirates Torch Mets 9-0, Chandler Dominates in Complete Dismantling
Pittsburgh handed New York a 9-0 shutout on August 8, 2026, with six different Pirates recording an RBI in a game that was never remotely close. Bubba Chandler threw six innings of three-hit, zero-earned-run ball, and Lake Bachar followed with two perfect innings and four strikeouts to finish the job.
Pittsburgh wasted no time making this ugly. In the first inning, Nick Gonzales grounded out to the pitcher — a productive out that scored Jake Mangum and put runners at second and third. Then Ronny Simon doubled to left, scoring both Horwitz and Reynolds to make it 3-0. That two-run double was the decisive blow: Pittsburgh's win probability swung from 80% to 90% on that single swing. The Mets were effectively cooked before the second inning began.
The fourth inning is where New York's night fully collapsed. Mangum doubled to left to score Henry Davis, pushing it to 5-0. Then New York's relief pitcher issued three wild pitches in the same sequence — Mangum scored, Reynolds moved to second, Lowe moved to third on the chaos. Gonzales then doubled to right, scoring both Lowe and Reynolds to make it 8-0. Four runs in one inning, two of them handed over by a pitcher who couldn't locate the plate. The story of that frame was Pittsburgh's lineup punishing every mistake without mercy. Brandon Lowe capped the scoring in the seventh with a 380-foot home run to right, his only hit of the night but one that made the final 9-0.
On the pitching side, this looks like a night Pittsburgh's staff will want to remember. Chandler allowed just three hits, walked one, and struck out five across six innings without surrendering an earned run. Bachar then came out of the bullpen and was untouchable — no hits, no walks, four strikeouts in two innings. For New York, Xzavion Curry actually held his own through three innings (one hit, zero earned runs, four strikeouts), but the Mets' offense never gave him anything to work with, and the bullpen that followed couldn't keep Pittsburgh off the board. Mangum finished 3-for-5 with two runs scored, Gonzales drove in three, and Simon added two RBI — a balanced, relentless offensive performance that appears to reflect a Pittsburgh lineup operating at a high level right now.