Pittsburgh actually had life against Cleveland last week, ripping off a pair of 7-1 wins sandwiched around a loss, so this isn't a team without a pulse. The problem is the step up in competition — the Guardians aren't the Yankees, and New York's lineup punishes exactly the kind of free passes Chandler's been prone to giving out.
New York enters having dropped 2 of its last 5 against the Dodgers before finding its footing again with back-to-back wins, the most recent an 8-5 decision over these same Pirates. That's a lineup trending in the right direction just as Pittsburgh rolls into town shorthanded at catcher, first base and up the middle.
- 10-Day-ILSpencer Horwitz (1B) — Horwitz (hamstring) will begin a rehab assignment with Single-A Bradenton on Tuesday, Colin Beazley of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.07/21
- 10-Day-ILEndy Rodriguez (C) — Rodriguez (hip) is out of the lineup for Tuesday's game versus Atlanta.07/08
- 15-Day-ILEvan Sisk (RP) — Sisk was placed on the 15-day injured list Saturday with left elbow inflammation, Colin Beazley of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.07/04
- 60-Day-ILChris Devenski (RP) — Devenski (illness) was sent to the rookie-level Florida Complex League on Tuesday to begin a rehab assignment.07/21
- 60-Day-ILOneil Cruz (CF) — The Pirates transferred Cruz (hand) to the 60-day injured list Saturday, Alex Stumpf of MLB.com reports.07/18
- 60-Day-ILKonnor Griffin (SS) — The Pirates transferred Griffin (finger) to the 60-day injured list Saturday, Alex Stumpf of MLB.com reports.07/11
- 10-Day-ILGiancarlo Stanton (DH) — Yankees manager Aaron Boone told reporters Monday that Stanton has "no timeline" to start a minor-league rehab assignment, Bryan Hoch of MLB.com reports.07/20
- 15-Day-ILMax Fried (SP) — Yankees manager Aaron Boone said Tuesday on the "Talkin' Yanks" podcast by Jomboy Media that he expects Fried (elbow) to return from the injured list early next week against the White Sox.07/21
- 15-Day-ILCarlos Rodon (SP) — Rodon (elbow) received a second round of injections after throwing about 10 pitches off a mound Friday and could progress to a full bullpen session this week, Gary Phillips of the New York Daily News reports.07/19
- 60-Day-ILAaron Judge (RF) — Manager Aaron Boone said Saturday that a specialist determined that Judge (ribs) is not yet ready to resume baseball activities, Erik Boland of Newsday reports.07/18
- 60-Day-ILClarke Schmidt (SP) — Schmidt (elbow) will throw live batting practice Saturday, Chris Kirschner of The Athletic reports.07/17
None of this is a death sentence for the Pirates — Chandler has swing-and-miss stuff when he's around the zone, and this rotation has shown it can hang in playoff-adjacent stretches. But New York's the deeper team on paper right now, and it's tough to bet against a lineup that's finally healthy at the top of the order against a starter still fighting his control.