Paul Skenes, Oneil Cruz carry Pirates to another victory over Padres

SAN DIEGO — They're the Pirates’ two biggest players, both with freakish builds and skills and the ability to control the pace and trajectory of a game.

Paul Skenes and Oneil Cruz, of course.

With Pittsburgh badly needing another win, its season potentially teetering on this nine-game road trip, Skenes and Cruz combined to lift the Pirates to a 1-0 victory over the Padres Tuesday at Petco Park, claiming the series and continuing to build some momentum.

Skenes delivered six scoreless innings for one of his best starts of the season.

Meanwhile, Cruz made sure it mattered when he homered off Bethel Park’s Mason Miller in the top of the ninth. Cruz got an 0-1 changeup down that he lined at 111.8 mph into the right-field seats for his 17th of the season. An absolute laser, to boot.

"With Oneil, the moment hasn’t been too big," Pirates manager Don Kelly said. "He's had some huge hits since coming back off the injured list. The hand isn’t 100%, and he’s going out there to help us win. He certainly did that [Tuesday].”

It was the first home run the dominant Miller has allowed all season. Entering Tuesday, Miller had gone 53 appearances and 55 1/3 innings without surrounding a home run. Overall, Miller had gone 77 2/3 innings without giving up a homer dating back to the previous season.

The last: Lourdes Gurriel Jr. on Aug. 5, 2025.

"I was keeping myself engaged in the at-bat and looking for a good pitch to hit, because I know I’m facing the best closer in the game," Cruz said, with Major League coach Stephen Morales translating. "It takes a lot to be successful against him."

Skenes’ start was his most dominant in more than a month, since seven innings of one-run ball July 19 at Cleveland. It was his first scoreless start since he went eight on May 12 at home against Colorado, striking out 10.

The only extra-base hit Skenes was allowed was to the first batter he faced, right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr. Other than that, the threats were minimal.

Skenes said he tweaked some things this time through the rotation to clean up his delivery, and he chalked the resurgent start up to better execution. It also didn't hurt that he pitched ahead a bunch, as Skenes threw first-pitch strikes to 15 of 21.

"It's a lot harder to pitch well when you're behind in the count," Skenes said. "Had really good execution pre-two strikes [Tuesday]."

The win helped the Pirates claim the series, the third in their past four tries, and improve to 65-69. They gained a full game on the Padres and sit 6.5 games back of the final National League Wild Card spot.

Skenes retired six straight after Tatis’ double, two via strikeout. The second of those came against Luis Campusano, when Skenes pumped 98.6 mph past the Padres catcher. It was his hardest pitch of the night, an early indication this start would be different.

Shortstop Xander Bogaerts singled to lead off the third. However, Skenes fielded a sacrifice bunt from left fielder Dustin Harris and retired the next eight, completing five innings on 74 pitches.

The eight-pitch third was Skenes’ shortest since the second inning (seven pitches) of that Guardians tart.

The final line included three hits allowed, no walks, four strikeouts, 13 whiffs and 87 pitches, 55 for strikes. Along with the improved control — Skenes had walked 13 over his past four starts — there was an uptick in velocity. Skenes averaged 97.2 mph with his four-seam fastball, an increase over his season mark of 96.8.

"Gun must be hot," Skenes joked. "With Miller throwing as hard as he does, I mean, that's got to be it, right?

"No, it felt good. Body is probably getting into a little better spot of the flow of the delivery. It's been a little hit and miss this year. Today was a good day with that."

A slight translation: He's been tweaking things like he usually does, always trying to achieve perfection. This year it has cost Skenes some velocity. Other years it didn't. If he found something when it comes to parts of his body being better synced, that could be a very good sign.

Another difference Tuesday was Skenes’ fastball usage. He was more consistently in the zone, yes. But he increased how frequently he threw his sinker, relying on it 17% more frequently normal. It netted nine combined called strikes and whiffs, most of any offering.

The six scoreless frames lowered Skenes’ season ERA to 3.79, while it dropped his ERA against NL West foes since 2025 to 1.05 (9 earned runs in 77 1/3 innings).

As good as Skenes was, so was Padres starter Michael King. Maybe better, honestly.

King twirled seven scoreless innings, marking the 18th time in 27 starts he’s gone at least six. The right-hander struck out seven Pirates and amassed 15 whiffs, doing so primarily with a healthy mix of sinkers, four-seamers and changeups.

Credit to the Pirates, though, they stuck with it, relying on another strong game for their bullpen: Camilo Doval to Gregory Soto to Mason Montgomery for the save. That group has been among the better units in baseball since the calendar flipped to August.

"Collectively, we’re proud of it," Montgomery said. "We’re doing what we need to do to give the team a chance to win. We’re all having fun doing it."

Jason Mackey: Jason.Mackey@pirates.com and @JMackey_PGH on X.