Skenes tallies season-high 9 K's ... but gets hit around early by Cards

PITTSBURGH -- Paul Skenes didn't allow a baserunner for the first 6 2/3 innings of his outing in Milwaukee last Friday. Yet the Cardinals needed just three pitches to crack the code against the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner in Thursday afternoon’s 10-5 loss in the series finale at PNC Park, the team’s fifth consecutive defeat.

The 23-year-old Skenes allowed a leadoff home run to Cardinals rookie JJ Wetherholt -- measured at 107.7 mph off the bat, per Statcast -- after leaving a fastball over the heart of the plate. Moments later, following an infield single by Iván Herrera on a play that was initially ruled a throwing error by third baseman Nick Gonzales, Jordan Walker clubbed St. Louis’ second homer of the inning -- a two-run shot on another pitch left up in the zone; this time, a sweeper.

In the blink of an eye, the Pirates trailed the Cardinals, 3-0. It took Skenes 29 pitches to get through the opening frame, despite striking out the side.

“Just didn't have the best command of everything in those first couple of innings,” Skenes said. “Settled in a little bit, and then they did a pretty good job in the last few innings. Just had to grind through it a little bit.”

It was just the second time Skenes has allowed multiple home runs in the same inning. (The other came on May 1 last season, when he allowed three home runs in the fifth inning vs. the Cubs).

Skenes fell behind in a number of key at-bats early in the game. During the two at-bats that resulted in home runs, he fell behind in the count 2-0 to Wetherholt and 2-1 to Walker.

Those two early swings accounted for the bulk of the Cardinals’ production against Skenes, but they were more than enough to plague his outing. A throwing error by shortstop Konnor Griffin in the top of the third inning ultimately led to an unearned run. St. Louis’ fifth run of the game came in the fifth after Wetherholt (3-1 count) slapped a base hit, then advanced on a wild pitch and scored on an Alec Burleson single (2-2 count).

“It just looked like the fastball wasn't where it typically is with him, command- and stuff-wise,” manager Don Kelly said. “ ... The one that Walker hit, it looked like a sweeper that didn't break. I didn't think he had his best stuff today.”

Skenes was replaced by Yohan Ramírez after pitching five innings and throwing 102 pitches (68 strikes) with Pittsburgh trailing, 5-3. He allowed five runs (four earned) off eight hits, but he didn't walk anybody while racking up a season-high nine strikeouts. His season ERA increased to 3.18.

Skenes threw his changeup 27% of the time, up from his usual 17%, while he used is fastball only 26% of the time, down from his usual 37%. It was his first time allowing more than one earned run since his Opening Day start in which he allowed five.

The Pirates' bullpen was unable to keep the game within striking distance in the innings following Skenes' departure.

“Paul Skenes is unbelievable, and I think sometimes, we’ve talked about it -- we lose sight of the fact that he's in his third year and the expectations are so high for him,” Kelly said.

With the loss, Skenes fell to 0-5 in seven career starts against the Cardinals despite a 2.95 ERA in those outings.

“Nobody expects more out of Paul Skenes than Paul does out of himself,” Kelly said. “I think when he has a game like today or [Opening Day], we need to find a way to pick him up, because he picks us up all the time.”

The Pirates scored 18 runs in their four home losses to the Cardinals, but they allowed double-digit runs in two of those games. While the team’s recent struggles are impossible to ignore, the silver lining is an immediate opportunity to right the ship with a three-game home series against the NL Central-leading Reds beginning on Friday night.

“Every team is going to have skids,” Skenes said. “Just got to get back to who we are and just play our game, [don’t] try to do too much -- just [feels] like we’ve been trying to do too much a little bit, especially today.”