Skenes steps up to end skid, but that’s 2-5 flying home
Paul Skenes looked to the scoreboard in center field at George M. Steinbrenner Field in the bottom of the seventh inning. It showed that he had thrown 99 pitches and was behind in a 3-0 count to José Caballero as the Pirates were trying to hang onto a one-run lead.
No one should be surprised by what he did next.
As he's done since his arrival, he reached back and fired three four-seamers to fan Caballero and end his second start of the season in style.
"That's what having that elite fastball, that not a lot of guys have in the game, does," Derek Shelton said afterward. "That you're able to go back and get that at pitch 102, that's what makes Paul Skenes special."
For Skenes, it didn't seem like it was a big deal. He just recognized that those three pitches came a little too late.
"Falling behind 3-0 on the last two hitters of the game is not very good," Skenes said. "I don’t have anything to lose out there, though. Get outs, that’s my job. So, that’s all I was trying to do. It’s not as hard as people think it is to throw strikes. So I just did it, three pitches too late."
Before that point, the Pirates' 2023 first overall pick and reigning National League Rookie of the Year had gotten outs all afternoon. He put together an efficient outing that saw him throw less than 70 pitches through the first five innings for just the second time in his career. He also never threw more than 18 pitches in an inning.
On this day, a 4-2 win over the Rays here in Tampa, Fla. Skenes was excellent as he threw seven innings, allowed just three hits and one unearned run and struck out six while walking none. In a situation where the Pirates were reeling in the midst of a four-game slump Skenes did what he was supposed to do.
Surprised? Not in the slightest.
"When you're not playing well or things are going tough, that's what you expect to happen," Shelton said. "He stepped up and did it."
Here's Skenes' full availability from today:
Skenes cruised through the Rays' order the first time through as he only allowed one hit, a bloop single to left field by Jake Mangum. He relied heavily on his fastball and splinker as he induced ground balls and pop ups rather than strike outs. It was the first time in his career that he didn't record a strikeout through the first two innings.
That approach showcased his efficiency as he used 41 pitches to get through his first three innings and threw 12 pitches in the first and 13 in the third.
"That’s my attack for the most part," Skenes said about leaning on his fastball and splinker to get quick outs early on. "That’s how it was today. That’s not necessarily how it’s always going to be, but it was working."
During his second trip through the order, Skenes started to expand the usage of his arsenal and battled with hitters. That resulted in him striking out three of four hitters between the third and fourth innings, along with striking out the final two hitters he faced.
Skenes overpowered both Mangum and Jonathan Aranda with fastballs in the fourth but also changed speeds on Brandon Lowe to end the third as he utilized a changeup low in the zone. He got Aranda again in the seventh with a splinker that concluded a seven-pitch a bat which he started behind 3-0.
"It’s kinda how it goes a little bit with having quick innings. Having quick innings is a product of getting quick outs," Skenes said. "So, a lot of the time, they are not getting to two strikes, then we frankly just started executing pitches a little bit better. So, I think that was the big one. Some games, you’re just not going to have as many punch outs and that was today.
With the way the Pirates' first seven games have gone, they needed a performance like Skenes' today. From start to finish, he was top-tier and finally found the efficiency that he's been searching for since the beginning of the spring. He threw 102 pitches and 72 strikes and outside of the one run the Rays scored in the sixth inning, which was the result of an overthrow at first base by Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Skenes stopped the Rays at every turn.
As Skenes did that, the offense stitched together runs thanks to an Oneil Cruz solo home run and sacrifice fly and some timely hitting by Adam Frazier and Endy Rodriguez. On this occasion, the Pirates did what they needed to do to back their ace and that's at least one small thing they can build on.
"I think it's big," Frazier said. "Played a good game today, Paul picked us up right there, pitching really good and bullpen guys closing it out. A few big hits for the guys today. Oneil had a couple big ones for us and hopefully we can ride this momentum into the off day and the home opener. So, it's a big spark for us."
Skenes' highlights:
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THE ASYLUM
Greg Macafee
5:40 pm - 04.02.2025Tampa, Fla.Skenes steps up to end skid, but that’s 2-5 flying home
Paul Skenes looked to the scoreboard in center field at George M. Steinbrenner Field in the bottom of the seventh inning. It showed that he had thrown 99 pitches and was behind in a 3-0 count to José Caballero as the Pirates were trying to hang onto a one-run lead.
No one should be surprised by what he did next.
As he's done since his arrival, he reached back and fired three four-seamers to fan Caballero and end his second start of the season in style.
"That's what having that elite fastball, that not a lot of guys have in the game, does," Derek Shelton said afterward. "That you're able to go back and get that at pitch 102, that's what makes Paul Skenes special."
For Skenes, it didn't seem like it was a big deal. He just recognized that those three pitches came a little too late.
"Falling behind 3-0 on the last two hitters of the game is not very good," Skenes said. "I don’t have anything to lose out there, though. Get outs, that’s my job. So, that’s all I was trying to do. It’s not as hard as people think it is to throw strikes. So I just did it, three pitches too late."
Before that point, the Pirates' 2023 first overall pick and reigning National League Rookie of the Year had gotten outs all afternoon. He put together an efficient outing that saw him throw less than 70 pitches through the first five innings for just the second time in his career. He also never threw more than 18 pitches in an inning.
On this day, a 4-2 win over the Rays here in Tampa, Fla. Skenes was excellent as he threw seven innings, allowed just three hits and one unearned run and struck out six while walking none. In a situation where the Pirates were reeling in the midst of a four-game slump Skenes did what he was supposed to do.
Surprised? Not in the slightest.
"When you're not playing well or things are going tough, that's what you expect to happen," Shelton said. "He stepped up and did it."
Here's Skenes' full availability from today:
Skenes cruised through the Rays' order the first time through as he only allowed one hit, a bloop single to left field by Jake Mangum. He relied heavily on his fastball and splinker as he induced ground balls and pop ups rather than strike outs. It was the first time in his career that he didn't record a strikeout through the first two innings.
That approach showcased his efficiency as he used 41 pitches to get through his first three innings and threw 12 pitches in the first and 13 in the third.
"That’s my attack for the most part," Skenes said about leaning on his fastball and splinker to get quick outs early on. "That’s how it was today. That’s not necessarily how it’s always going to be, but it was working."
During his second trip through the order, Skenes started to expand the usage of his arsenal and battled with hitters. That resulted in him striking out three of four hitters between the third and fourth innings, along with striking out the final two hitters he faced.
Skenes overpowered both Mangum and Jonathan Aranda with fastballs in the fourth but also changed speeds on Brandon Lowe to end the third as he utilized a changeup low in the zone. He got Aranda again in the seventh with a splinker that concluded a seven-pitch a bat which he started behind 3-0.
"It’s kinda how it goes a little bit with having quick innings. Having quick innings is a product of getting quick outs," Skenes said. "So, a lot of the time, they are not getting to two strikes, then we frankly just started executing pitches a little bit better. So, I think that was the big one. Some games, you’re just not going to have as many punch outs and that was today.
With the way the Pirates' first seven games have gone, they needed a performance like Skenes' today. From start to finish, he was top-tier and finally found the efficiency that he's been searching for since the beginning of the spring. He threw 102 pitches and 72 strikes and outside of the one run the Rays scored in the sixth inning, which was the result of an overthrow at first base by Isiah Kiner-Falefa, Skenes stopped the Rays at every turn.
As Skenes did that, the offense stitched together runs thanks to an Oneil Cruz solo home run and sacrifice fly and some timely hitting by Adam Frazier and Endy Rodriguez. On this occasion, the Pirates did what they needed to do to back their ace and that's at least one small thing they can build on.
"I think it's big," Frazier said. "Played a good game today, Paul picked us up right there, pitching really good and bullpen guys closing it out. A few big hits for the guys today. Oneil had a couple big ones for us and hopefully we can ride this momentum into the off day and the home opener. So, it's a big spark for us."
Skenes' highlights:
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