Skenes K's season-high 11, but bid for 4th straight win foiled by Cubs

PITTSBURGH -- In all of Paul Skenes’ impressive achievements three years into his MLB career, he hasn’t won four straight games. Saturday night was a chance at another great feat.

Skenes recorded a season-high 11 strikeouts, but he allowed three runs in the fifth, exiting after 5 1/3 innings with the Pirates trailing the Cubs, 3-0. Isaac Mattson entered with two runners on in the sixth, and he allowed a double and a single to give Skenes five earned runs.

Pittsburgh went on to fall to the Cubs, 11-0, for its third straight loss, recording three or more losses in a row for the first time since losing in four consecutive games from June 5-9.

“Really weird line,” Skenes said postgame. “I think it was all working. Thought there were some good pitches that I made that they did a really good job getting to … Just a weird game, but they did a good job. Grinded out some at-bats and saw pitches, found some grass and it's baseball.”

Skenes came into the matchup with Chicago on fire, recording a 2.45 ERA and three victories in his last three outings. His last start against the Guardians was his best of the summer, going seven innings and allowing only one run.

Against Chicago, Skenes gave up a leadoff single to star center fielder Pete Crow-Armstrong. PCA then took off for second, stealing despite Skenes stepping off and making a throw. Skenes stranded him on second, striking out two and inducing a flyout.

Skenes described Pete-Crow Armstrong's baserunning as “interesting,” saying if he was a high school coach, he wouldn’t coach it. His former Team USA teammate smiled at him after swiping the base.

“I love to face Paul because he is one of the best competitors in the sport. I admire that the most about him and I love how he goes about his business,” Crow-Armstrong said. “ … I think taking that personal experience about him helped. I think I have a good idea of his mentality. It’s never easy against him, but we battled as a team.”

Skenes added two more strikeouts in the second inning, mixing six types of pitches against seven batters. He entered with a 2.77 ERA in eight starts versus the Cubs in his career, totaling 12.2 strikeouts per nine innings.

Skenes looked unlike himself in the third frame, walking No. 8 hitter Dansby Swanson on four pitches and making a two-base error in a pickoff attempt. He then hit the No. 9 hitter Miguel Amaya. With plenty against him, Skenes struck out two batters looking before forcing a flyout to escape the jam.

He came back in the fourth with three more strikeouts, using a slider, four-seam and sweeper on his punchout pitches. His fastball fluctuated all the way down to 93.9 mph, but Skenes was still as dominant as ever.

Then came the fifth, where the bottom of the Cubs' order ambushed Skenes with two singles before Crow-Armstrong doubled to take a 1-0 lead. Chicago added two more with a soft single to right field from Seiya Suzuki, spoiling Skenes’ dominant outing.

“His stuff was coming out well,” Pirates manager Don Kelly said. “They just found a way to get to him. Swanson with a base hit. Amaya went the other way. PCA with a big double. He worked around that first and third early, got the punchout; stuff was coming out good. They just found a way to grind some at-bats out and got some big hits.”

As his pitch count went over 100, Skenes lost command and grew tired. He allowed a single and a walk in the sixth, then he was pulled with one out at 105 pitches. Pittsburgh’s bullpen only made things worse, allowing six earned runs in 3 2/3 innings to create a blowout loss.

“It just looked like there in the sixth inning, [he] tired out and started losing his command, especially on that last walk,” Kelly said.

Saturday was a much-needed opportunity for the Pirates to have their ace be the stopper to a cold streak. Instead, Pittsburgh lost emphatically, and will have to avoid the sweep on Sunday.

While many on the outside begin scoreboard watching this time of year, Skenes said it’s rare inside the clubhouse. When he asks his teammates where the Pirates are in the standings, most don’t know, Skenes said. It’s indicative of this team’s focus as games grow in importance in Skenes’ eyes.

“If we play our game and play the way we should, we're gonna be a playoff team,” Skenes said. “We're gonna be where we should come October, and it doesn't really matter what anybody else does.”