Ace pitcher Paul Skenes silences doubters with a dominant outing, steering the Pittsburgh Pirates to victory after a rocky start.
All is good in the Pittsburgh Pirates’ world again now that Paul Skenes’ earned run average is back in the triple digits.
The 2025 National League Cy Young Award bounced back from a dreadful opening-day performance, leading the Pirates to an 8-3 victory over the Reds on Wednesday at Great American Ball Park in Cincinnati.
Skenes allowed one run and three hits in five innings and 77 pitches with five strikeouts and two walks. Last Thursday, Skenes pitched a career-low 2/3 innings and allowed a career-high five runs in an 11-7 loss to the Mets in New York.
Skenes (1-1) dropped his ERA from 67.50—his mark after his first appearance this season—to 9.63, still far off the MLB-leading 1.97 he posted last season. While Skenes didn’t pitch up to last year’s standards on Wednesday, he was good enough to help Pittsburgh win the deciding game of the three-game series and even their record at 3-3.
The Pirates are off on Thursday, then play their home opener on Friday against the Baltimore Orioles at PNC Park. Mitch Keller (0-0, 0.00 ERA) will pitch for Pittsburgh against Kyle Bradish (0-1, 3.86).
While Skenes helped the Pirates finish their road trip on a positive note, he remained modest about his performance.
“Still a work in progress,” Skenes told reporters after the game. “But nice to give some volume and be out there for more than 2/3 of an inning.”
Skenes had his 31-inning scoreless streak against the Reds snapped by Nathaniel Lowe’s RBI double, but still improved to 5-0 against Cincinnati.
Manager Don Kelly kept Skenes on a pitch count near 80, ending his day at 77. Pittsburgh took precautions since Skenes threw just 37 pitches on opening day.
“We need Paul for the long haul,” Kelly said. “Paul, a great job getting through five. As we go, he’s going to be throwing more than five and 77.”
Skenes appears on track for long-term success. The 23-year-old pitched 187 2/3 innings last year in his first full major league season and has said he wants to be a workhorse, routinely pitching 200 innings a year.
Some speculated Skenes was fatigued after two high-pressure starts for the U.S. in last month’s World Baseball Classic, but he dismissed the idea after Wednesday’s game.
“Just remembering what’s real and what isn’t real, I guess,” Skenes said. “Nothing matters except for the play. Nothing matters except for the game. I’m pretty insulated from a lot of stuff that’s out there. The stuff that I do see or hear, I don’t really care anyway, because it doesn’t have anything to do with the play.
“Throughout the week, basically just thinking about getting back to execution and executing my pitches. That’s it.”
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