Nine observations: With the NFL taking over Pittsburgh, Pirates flex their own recent draft success

MILWAUKEE — The Pirates threw their own draft party on Friday night.

With the NFL draft taking over Pittsburgh, the organization’s past three first-round picks took center stage within hours of one another: Paul Skenes (2023) flirting with a perfect game and Konnor Griffin (2024) hitting his first MLB home run in Milwaukee, Seth Hernandez (2025) delivering another dominant outing with Low-A Bradenton.

It showed the future is bright. But it also made for two entertaining baseball games, including the Pirates’ 6-0 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers to open a series at American Family Field.

“You can talk about me, Konnor and Seth all you want,” Skenes said. “But top to bottom, the Pirates do a really good job drafting and developing.

“I’m excited. About Konnor and Seth, sure, but also some of the other guys we’ve picked. People might not know their names yet. But they will.”

Skenes allowed a single to Jake Bauers with two outs in the seventh and nothing more. He struck out seven, racked up 10 whiffs and lowered his ERA to 2.48 on the season.

Griffin homered in the third and finished with three hits and three RBIs. He also stole a base and scored a run.

Hernandez (MLB Pipeline No. 24) worked five shutout innings against Clearwater, striking out nine. The right-hander has fanned 32 over 17 innings while permitting a grand total of one hit in his last three starts. Hernandez’s ERA: 0.53.

“I’m sure everybody had a blast watching that,” Pirates manager Don Kelly said. “The way Paul was pitching, then for Konnor to break out like that … just a good team win.”

Let’s take a closer look with my observations.

1. It was Star Wars night in Milwaukee, so we’ll start with a sequel George Lucas never got around to making: The Splinker Returns. Skenes dusted off his old friend and threw it 29% of the time — and it worked.

The splinker generated five of Skenes’ whiffs. It finished four of his seven strikeouts. Kind of a mystery why he hasn’t thrown it more, but good timing to bring it back.

“Just gotta remind everybody I still got it,” Skenes said with a smile.

2. Skenes certainly had it Friday, and it was evident early. He needed just 13 pitches to get through the first and averaged 12 per frame over his first four.

With a ho-hum history in this park — Skenes’ 4.80 ERA in Milwaukee prior to this one was almost double his career mark (2.05) — the Pirates ace wasted no time going after Brewers hitters.

“Pregame bullpen wasn't very good,” Skenes said. “Kind of found the fastball. When you have the fastball command, it makes it a lot easier to pitch.”

3. There was an impressive, professional vibe around the team for this one, which obviously Skenes plays a part in establishing.

With a night game on getaway day in Texas, travel wasn’t easy. But the energy around the team Friday was hardly low. It was the same as ever. As the Pirates kick off a stretch of 10 straight against the NL Central, the Pirates knew they needed to start strong.

Skenes ensured it happened.

“We've got a lot of ballplayers,” Skenes said. “A lot of gritty, dirtbag ballplayers that are going to do whatever it takes to win.”

4. Griffin’s physical tools are obviously impressive. I’m equally as impressed by his makeup. He began Friday’s game hitting .125 over his past six and 0-for-11 on the trip. You’d never know it by the way he carried himself: positive, polite and steady.

You’ve seen the highlight, but he crushed a four-seamer that was left middle-middle. Did exactly what you should do with it and got rewarded.

“Hopefully first of many,” Griffin said. “It was cool to get it done [Friday], have the first one under the belt. Now just continue to stack winning days. Hopefully a lot more to come."

5. Two funny observations: Isaac Mattson nearly catching it with his hat in the Pirates bullpen and then Skenes joking around with Griffin postgame.

“I had talked with Mangum about doing something for Konnor, but a bounce house would’ve been a little tough in the clubhouse,” Skenes said.

OK, I lied. There was a third: the silent treatment Griffin received in the dugout. The Pirates absolutely nailed it.

“I was ready to celebrate with everybody and wear the welder’s mask,” Griffin said. “Maybe my second homer I’ll get to celebrate with everybody like the real thing."

6. More solid defense in this one. Brandon Lowe made a few rangy plays in the fifth and sixth. More subtle, but I caught Oneil Cruz making a few quick, decisive breaks on balls. The opposite of him automatically running in like he did in New York.

Dare I say Cruz might actually be improving.

7. So much crazy historical context for Friday. Here’s a sampling:

• Griffin became the third Major League since 1901 to homer on his 20th birthday.

• Griffin and Barry Bonds are the only Pirates in that time to have at least two hits, including a home run, and a stolen base on their birthday.

• Skenes became the sixth Pirates pitcher since 1901 to go seven-plus scoreless innings with one or no hits allowed, zero walks and seven strikeouts.

• Skenes tied Nellie Briles, Bert Blyleven and Nick Kingham for the third-longest perfect game bid since 1961.

• Griffin became the seventh Major Leaguer since 1901 with three hits (including a home run), a stolen base and three RBIs on any birthday.

8. It would not shock me if this jumpstarted something for Griffin. He clearly has the talent to play at this level. That was never the issue.

Feels like this trip could be big for him feeling a little more comfortable. His two singles were nearly as impressive as the homer to me because they felt like normal baseball plays, stuff you’d expect consistently out of an everyday player. We’ll see.

9. You can tell when Skenes is feeling it. Loves ending innings with strikeouts. Almost seems like he feels it generating momentum for his team.

That happened in the first, second, third and fifth.

I also thought it was impressive how the Pirates adjusted after Brandon Woodruff kept them in check through two innings. It started with Griffin’s homer. After that, the Pirates continued to apply pressure.

Last thing: I could be wrong, but I don’t think the Pirates would’ve let Skenes keep going. He finished at 93 pitches, an average of 13 per frame. I’d love to see Skenes throw 119 pitches, believe me. But given how they’ve handled pitchers — plus Kelly’s answer below — it would’ve been surprising.

“Extremely difficult [decision],” Kelly said. “It’s just one of those things, I’m just being honest on it. Paul Skenes means a lot to us. I also understand the gravity of the situation, what that all entails. I wish we would have gotten to that point for him and the team, trying to navigate that and figure it out.”

Jason Mackey: Jason.Mackey@Pirates.com and @JMackey_PGH.