Bubba Chandler had no intention to throw four-seam fastballs on 74% of his pitches, but the Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander followed the instructions of catcher Henry Davis in his ear through PitchCom.

“I just throw them,” Chandler told SportsNet Pittsburgh in a post-game interview. “I throw what I hear.”

Chandler’s heater worked against the Atlanta Braves as he recorded eight strikeouts against one walk while allowing a solo home run for his lone hit in five innings Thursday night in 5-2 win in a Grapefruit League game before 5,427 at LECOM Park in Bradenton, Fla.

Problem was, the Braves got an even better performance from Grant Holmes, who had nine strikeouts against one walk in five hitless innings. Joel Payamps added another hitless inning, and the Pirates didn’t get their first until the seventh inning.

Chandler struck out four of the first seven batters he faced before Jair Camargo sent an 0-2 slider on a line drive over the left-field fence in the third inning. Aside from that, Chandler was feeling it. He entered his third start and fourth appearance of spring training with more walks (10) than strikeouts (nine) but didn’t allow one until the fifth inning.

“It felt great,” Chandler said. “A little loss of focus the last inning. I’m very pleased with how I executed everything, the thought process, the pace, the tempo I had. I felt in control, and that’s what you strive for.”

Chandler threw four-seamers on 49 of his 66 pitches, touching triple digits once while averaging 98.2 mph and generating 10 whiffs on 29 swings with six called strikes. He threw eight changeups, six sliders and three curveballs, getting 15 total whiffs.

“I’m just trying to go out there and execute and do what I know how to do,” Chandler said. “Having Hank behind the dish — that was the first time he’s caught me all spring — we talked before, and it was about execution and it was about focus. That’s all we had in mind.”

The Braves took a 2-0 lead in the sixth, when lefty Evan Sisk replaced Chandler. Sisk walked Michael Harris II, who stole second and scored on Kyle Farmer’s single to center field.

Alika Williams, who went 2 for 2 with two RBIs, broke up the Braves’ no-hit bid with a leadoff single off Tayler Scott in the seventh. But Williams was thrown out attempting to steal second.

The Pirates finally scored in the eighth, when Endy Rodriguez singled to right field, advanced to second on a single by Yordany De Los Santos, reached third on an error by Cody Miller and scored when Shalin Polanco drew a bases-loaded walk. Williams singled on a line drive to right to score De Los Santos and Callan Moss, reached third on a throwing error by right fielder Owen Carey and scored on a single by Javier Rivas to give the Pirates a three-run advantage.

Note: Mike Clevinger is scheduled to start for the Pirates against Casey Mize and the Detroit Tigers at 6:05 p.m. Friday at Publix Field at Joker Marchant Stadium in Lakeland.