PITTSBURGH (AP) — Braxton Ashcraft and highly touted rookie Bubba Chandler combined for a three-hit shutout as the Pittsburgh Pirates breezed past the Colorado Rockies 9-0 on Friday night.
Ashcraft (4-2) struck out six with one hit and a walk to win his second consecutive start. Chandler, a hard-throwing 22-year-old right-hander considered the top pitching prospect in baseball, followed with four innings of scoreless relief to get the save in his major league debut.
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Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Bubba Chandler delivers during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Colorado Rockies, Friday, Aug. 22, 2025, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Matt Freed)
Pittsburgh Pirates' Tommy Pham, right, is greeted by Jack Suwinski, left, after hitting a two-run home run during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Colorado Rockies, Friday, Aug. 22, 2025, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Matt Freed)
Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Bubba Chandler delivers during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Colorado Rockies, Friday, Aug. 22, 2025, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Matt Freed)
Pittsburgh Pirates' Spencer Horwitz, right, is greeted by third base coach Mike Rabelo, left, after hitting a home run during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Colorado Rockies, Friday, Aug. 22, 2025, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Matt Freed)
Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Bubba Chandler delivers during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Colorado Rockies, Friday, Aug. 22, 2025, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Matt Freed)
Spencer Horwitz, Tommy Pham and Alexander Canario homered for Pittsburgh, which has won three of four. Andrew McCutchen doubled twice and drove in four runs off Colorado's Antonio Senzatela (4-15), who struggled against the Pirates for the second time in three weeks.
Earlier this month in Denver, Senzatela was shelled for eight runs while failing to make it out of the first inning. The major-league worst Rockies somehow rallied to win that one 17-16.
Not this time.
Ashcraft retired nine of the first 10 batters he faced and quickly worked around a leadoff single by Moniak in the fourth. He breezed through the fifth before giving way to Chandler, the latest in a long string of young pitchers the Pirates have drafted and cultivated in recent years, led by reigning NL Rookie of the Year Paul Skenes.
While Chandler gave up hard contact a couple of times — including a leadoff double by Orlando Arcia shortly after entering in the sixth — he also struck out three and hit triple digits on the radar gun with his fastball several times.
McCutchen wasted little time getting to Senzatela. He smacked a two-run double to center in the first and did it again in the second and Ashcraft made sure the big early lead didn't go to waste.
4 — the number of pitchers with four-inning save in their big-league debut since saves became an official stat.
The series continues Saturday when Pittsburgh's Mike Burrows (1-4, 4.46 ERA) faces Colorado's Kyle Freeland (13-12, 5.16).
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Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Bubba Chandler delivers during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Colorado Rockies, Friday, Aug. 22, 2025, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Matt Freed)
Pittsburgh Pirates' Tommy Pham, right, is greeted by Jack Suwinski, left, after hitting a two-run home run during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Colorado Rockies, Friday, Aug. 22, 2025, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Matt Freed)
Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Bubba Chandler delivers during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Colorado Rockies, Friday, Aug. 22, 2025, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Matt Freed)
Pittsburgh Pirates' Spencer Horwitz, right, is greeted by third base coach Mike Rabelo, left, after hitting a home run during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Colorado Rockies, Friday, Aug. 22, 2025, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Matt Freed)
Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Bubba Chandler delivers during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Colorado Rockies, Friday, Aug. 22, 2025, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Matt Freed)
NEW YORK (AP) — Thousands of nurses in three hospital systems in New York City went on strike Monday after negotiations through the weekend failed to yield breakthroughs in their contract disputes.
The strike was taking place at The Mount Sinai Hospital and two of its satellite campuses, with picket lines forming. The other affected hospitals are NewYork-Presbyterian and Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx.
About 15,000 nurses are involved in the strike, according to New York State Nurses Association.
“After months of bargaining, management refused to make meaningful progress on core issues that nurses have been fighting for: safe staffing for patients, healthcare benefits for nurses, and workplace violence protections,” the union said in a statement issued Monday. “Management at the richest hospitals in New York City are threatening to discontinue or radically cut nurses’ health benefits.”
The strike, which comes during a severe flu season, could potentially force the hospitals to transfer patients, cancel procedures or divert ambulances. It could also put a strain on city hospitals not involved in the contract dispute, as patients avoid the medical centers hit by the strike.
The hospitals involved have been hiring temporary nurses to try and fill the labor gap during the walkout, and said in a statement during negotiations that they would “do whatever is necessary to minimize disruptions.” Montefiore posted a message assuring patients that appointments would be kept.
“NYSNA’s leaders continue to double down on their $3.6 billion in reckless demands, including nearly 40% wage increases, and their troubling proposals like demanding that a nurse not be terminated if found to be compromised by drugs or alcohol while on the job," Montefiore spokesperson Joe Solmonese said Monday after the strike had started. "We remain resolute in our commitment to providing safe and seamless care, regardless of how long the strike may last.”
New York-Presbyterian accused the union of staging a strike to “create disruption,” but said in a statement that it has taken steps to ensure patients receive the care they need.
"We’re ready to keep negotiating a fair and reasonable contract that reflects our respect for our nurses and the critical role they play, and also recognizes the challenging realities of today’s healthcare environment,” the statement said.
The work stoppage is occurring at multiple hospitals simultaneously, but each medical center is negotiating with the union independently. Several other hospitals across the city and in its suburbs reached deals in recent days to avert a possible strike.
The nurses’ demands vary by hospital, but the major issues include staffing levels and workplace safety. The union says hospitals have given nurses unmanageable workloads.
Nurses also want better security measures in the workplace, citing incidents like a an incident last week, when a man with a sharp object barricaded himself in a Brooklyn hospital room and was then killed by police.
The union also wants limitations on hospitals’ use of artificial intelligence.
The nonprofit hospitals involved in the negotiations say they’ve been working to improve staffing levels, but say the union’s demands overall are too costly.
Nurses voted to authorize the strike last month.
Both New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and Mayor Zohran Mamdani had expressed concern about the possibility of the strike. As the strike deadline neared, Mamdani urged both sides to keep negotiating and reach a deal that “both honors our nurses and keeps our hospitals open.”
“Our nurses kept this city alive through its hardest moments. Their value is not negotiable,” Mamdani said.
State Attorney General Letitia James voiced similar support, saying "nurses put their lives on the line every day to keep New Yorkers healthy. They should never be forced to choose between their own safety, their patients’ well-being, and a fair contract.”
The last major nursing strike in the city was only three years ago, in 2023. That work stoppage, at Mount Sinai and Montefiore, was short, lasting three days. It resulted in a deal raising pay 19% over three years at those hospitals.
It also led to promised staffing improvements, though the union and hospitals now disagree about how much progress has been made, or whether the hospitals are retreating from staffing guarantees.
Nurses strike outside New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Nurses strike outside New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Nurses strike outside New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Nurses strike outside New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Nurses strike outside New York-Presbyterian Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Nurses strike outside Mount Sinai West Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Nurses strike outside Mount Sinai West Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Nurses strike outside Mount Sinai West Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
Nurses strike outside Mount Sinai West Hospital, Monday, Jan. 12, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
FILE - A medical worker transports a patient at Mount Sinai Hospital, April 1, 2020, in New York. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer, File)
