Skenes fine with extra rest as Bucs push his next start back to Wednesday

PITTSBURGH -- Pirates manager Don Kelly announced after Saturday night’s 4-0 loss to the Red Sox that Paul Skenes' scheduled start for Sunday will be pushed back to Wednesday. Kelly said the move was made to give the 24-year-old extra rest, while pushing the rest of the rotation back with him.

Reliever Lake Bachar will start Sunday’s series finale against Boston at PNC Park.

“We had talked about it when I showed up to the field today. I threw my bullpen and everything yesterday, and was fully anticipating starting tomorrow,” Skenes said. “So, we talked about it when I showed up at the field. Ultimately, it was Donny's decision, but we had talked about it. And like I said after the last start, I'll have his back on whatever that is. I don't necessarily disagree with the decision either.”

Rain is in the forecast throughout the day Sunday, which could have played some factor in the decision. Skenes exited his last start on Tuesday in Miami after just 65 pitches, and he is at a career-high 3.88 ERA following two sub-2.00 ERA seasons and a 2025 National League Cy Young Award to begin his MLB career.

Kelly indicated that the decision was not injury-related and Skenes will be on seven days' rest between starts. Skenes threw his scheduled bullpen on Friday, but he doesn’t believe the decision by Kelly was due to his performance in that setting.

“It certainly can't hurt in terms of recovery, and you add recovery in for anybody and that's going to help,” Skenes said. “So, kind of wish it weren't the case that I was starting tomorrow, because that's something I pride myself on. But in the long run, it's definitely best to just get some recovery time.”

Skenes isn’t sure if he’ll add another bullpen session before Wednesday’s start in the series finale against the Tigers, but he expects to touch the mound in some fashion. While fatigue could be a factor in his decreased velocity -- 96.8 mph average four-seamer compared to 98.2 mph in 2025 -- Skenes said he feels no different than the last two seasons physically.

Skenes admitted that the mental challenges have been “a little different” this year than in the past. Pittsburgh (60-65) fell to five games under .500 with Saturday night’s loss to Boston. Now, the Bucs will be without their ace for Sunday’s rubber match.

“Everybody deals with stuff. I think going through a full Major League season and not dealing with stuff, I don't know if there's ever been somebody who's done that,” Skenes said. “So everybody's tired. Everybody's grinding, and we just got to keep going.”