The hard-throwing 22-year-old right-hander, considered the top pitching prospect in baseball, threw four scoreless innings in relief to get the save in a 9-0 win over the Colorado Rockies<\/a> on Friday night.<\/p>\n Chandler became just the fourth pitcher to record a four-inning save in his major league debut since the save became an official statistic in 1969.<\/p>\n Chandler, officially called up from Triple-A Indianapolis earlier in the day, entered in the top of the sixth against Colorado after five innings of one-hit ball by Pirates starter Braxton Ashcraft<\/a>.<\/p>\n Editor’s Picks<\/p>\n 2 Related<\/p>\n Chandler’s first pitch in the majors was a 99 mph fastball that Orlando Arcia<\/a> fouled off. Arcia took a 97 mph heater for a ball, then laced a 98 mph four-seamer off the left-field wall for a double.<\/p>\n It was the lone mistake Chandler would make. He fanned Ryan Ritter<\/a> on a 100 mph fastball that painted the outside corner, induced Tyler Freeman<\/a> to ground out to second, and then struck out Mickey Moniak<\/a> swinging on another triple-digit fastball.<\/p>\n Chandler needed just seven pitches to retire the Rockies in order in the seventh, helped a bit by a sliding catch by centerfielder Jack Suwinski<\/a>. Colorado’s Braxton Fulford<\/a> led off the eighth by getting hit by a pitch, but Chandler induced Yanquiel Fernandez<\/a> to hit into a double play and exacted a bit of revenge on Arcia by striking him out on a changeup well out of the zone.<\/p>\n Pittsburgh manager Don Kelly sent Chandler back out for the ninth. After a lead-off single by Ritter, Chandler retired the next three batters to close out the game.<\/p>\n The Pirates plan to use Chandler in a relief role for now as a way of creating what Kelly called an “on ramp” to the majors, a strategy the club used earlier this season after calling up Ashcraft.<\/p>\n Chandler will have an opportunity to start at some point, though the club is keeping a careful eye on his workload. He threw 100 innings in the minors this season, not that far away from the 119\u2154 innings he pitched last year while splitting time between Double-A and Triple-A.<\/p>\n A third-round pick in the 2021 draft, Chandler was a two-way player earlier in his minor league career before moving to pitching full-time in 2023.<\/p>\nPirates rookie Bubba Chandler, considered MLB’s top pitching prospect, showed off a 100 mph fastball in his four-inning save Friday night.\u00a0Photo by Justin Berl\/Getty Images<\/p>\n