Boston Red Sox vs Pittsburgh Pirates

Boston Red Sox at Pittsburgh Pirates (2026-08-14). Jake Bennett vs Bubba Chandler at PNC Park.

Starters — Bennett has a 3.17 ERA and 1.04 WHIP over 76.2 innings, with 6.46 K/9, 1.88 BB/9, and 0.59 HR/9. His last three starts were 5.1 innings and 4 earned runs, 5.2 innings and 3 earned runs, and 6.1 innings and 3 earned runs. The trend is up, but the recent game log shows a bit more traffic than his season ratios suggest. Chandler has a 4.26 ERA and 1.38 WHIP over 116.1 innings, with 7.97 K/9, 4.8 BB/9, and 0.77 HR/9. His last three starts were 6 innings and 0 earned runs, 5.2 innings and 2 earned runs, and 4 innings and 3 earned runs. The trend is down, though his two most recent outings were clearly sharper, especially the one-walk shutout effort on August 8.

Teams — Boston enters with a .722 OPS, 538 runs scored, a .248 average, and a 3.48 team ERA with a 1.22 WHIP. The Red Sox are 5-5 over their last 10 games, and their profile leans more on run prevention than pure offensive volume. Pittsburgh has a .746 OPS, 617 runs scored, a .256 average, and a 4.32 team ERA with a 1.32 WHIP. The Pirates are 3-7 in their last 10, so the offense has been more productive on the season than the recent form indicates, while the pitching staff has allowed more baserunners and carries the weaker full-season run prevention numbers in this matchup.