The Pittsburgh Pirates open the Regular season on the road with a three-game series against the New York Mets. As they wind down Spring Training, they have announced how the starting rotation will look to start the season.
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Paul Skenes
No question here, Paul Skenes will get the Opening Day start on the road against the Mets and Freddy Peralta. Skenes finished 2025 with a 10-10 record and 1.97 ERA. Skenes had 216 strikeouts with a 0.95 WHIP in another fantastic season for Pittsburgh.
Mitch Keller
MItch Keller will get game two on Saturday, March 28th, against the Mets. Keller made 32 starts last season with a 6-15 record. He had a 4.19 ERA, 1.26 WHIP, and 150 strikeouts in 176.1 innings of work for the Pirates in 2025.
Carmen Mlodzinski
Mlodzinski will get the third and final game on Sunday, March 29th, against the Mets. Mlodzinski pitched in 34 games for the Pittsburgh Pirates last season with 12 starts. He finished the year with a 5-8 record and a 3.55 ERA. Mlodzinski had a 1.30 WHIP and 89 strikeouts in 99 innings of work last season for the Pirates.
Braxton Ashcraft
Braxton Ashcraft will open the series with the Cincinnati Reds against Chase Burns on Monday, March 30th. Ashcraft pitched in 26 games for the Pittsburgh Pirates last season with eight starts. He had a 4-4 record with a 2.71 ERA. He struck out 71 with a 1.25 WHIP over 69.2 innings pitched in 2025.
Bubba Chandler
Bubba Chandler will start the fifth game for the Pirates with a matchup against Rhett Lowder on Tuesday, March 31st. Chandler pitched in seven games last season for the Pittsburgh Pirates, making four starts. He finished the season with a 4-1 record and a 4.02 ERA. Chandler had 31 strikeouts and a 0.93 WHIP over 31.1 innings pitched for the Pirates last season.
Summary
Obviously Pual Skenes was going to start the opener. Mitch Keller is going in game two again. This is no real surprise. Carmen Mlodzinski is going in game three. Many might have thought Bubba Chandler would go in that game. Instead, Chandler will go game five, and Ashcraft will get the fourth game. Manager Don Kelly mentioned on the Broadcast that it was more about matchups. He focused on setting up the rotation to start the season. Opening Day is right around the corner, and the rotation is set. Let’s play ball!
