Gregory Soto Squanders Paul Skenes' Quality Start in Pirates' Loss

The Pittsburgh Pirates fell to the Chicago Cubs, 4-3 on Saturday, dwindling their Wild Card hopes further. 

Star starting pitcher Paul Skenes had a great performance, as he went seven innings, allowing four hits, two earned runs, a walk, and four strikeouts on 82 pitches. It was a quality start for Skenes, and he was in line for the win when he exited the game.

However, Gregory Soto struggled in relief, as he allowed a hit, two earned runs, two walks, and two strikeouts on 31 pitches. 

Soto has been a great reliever for the Pirates this season, with a 3.32 ERA, 73 strikeouts, 26 walks, 14 saves, and a 1.11 WHIP. He didn't have his best stuff against the Cubs and will look to bounce back in his next appearance.

Pittsburgh's offense didn't produce much, with six hits, five walks, and eight strikeouts. Ryan O'Hearn produced the only runs of the game for the Pirates, hitting a three-run blast in the sixth inning off Clay Holmes. 

Chicago's bullpen shut down Pittsburgh the rest of the game, allowing just one hit and one walk.

The positive the Pirates can take away from the game is that Skenes had a strong performance in what has been an up-and-down season for the All-Star. The reigning NL Cy Young Award winner holds a 3.78 ERA with 185 strikeouts, 46 walks, and a 1.13 WHIP.

While these aren't terrible numbers, they're far from the way he performed in his first two seasons. In his rookie season in 2024, Skenes had a 1.96 ERA with 170 strikeouts, 32 walks, and a 0.95 WHIP.

He then won the Cy Young in 2025, posting a 1.97 ERA with 216 strikeouts, 42 walks, and a 0.95 WHIP.

Skenes is still one of the best pitchers in baseball, but the Pirates will be hoping for a bounce-back year in 2026. 

Pittsburgh has a difficult path to earn a Wild Card spot in the final few weeks of the season, and if they blow games late like Soto did on Saturday, the Pirates will have to wait at least another year to end their 10-year playoff drought.