PITTSBURGH – Paul Skenes entered his start against the Braves on Tuesday night on the cusp of history – just not the good kind.
Winless in nine starts since May 12, Skenes was amid the worst stretch of his MLB career. The right-hander’s drought was tied for the second longest by a reigning Cy Young Award winner, just one behind Blake Snell and Jim Perry for the record, per the Elias Sports Bureau.
Against Atlanta at PNC Park, Skenes allowed only two runs on eight hits while striking out four in six innings. He broke the nearly two-month cold streak as the Pirates took down the Braves, 12-4.
“I don't think so,” Skenes said of switching things up en route to the win. “Again, I think throughout the past stretch, there have been a couple kind of clunky outings. But there has also been a lot of weak contact, and I think today was kind of more of the same. Just got some runs put up earlier and made my life easy.”
Skenes appeared to be cruising at first, striking out Ozzie Albies and reaching 98 mph. Then with two outs, Matt Olson doubled, Drake Baldwin walked and Mauricio Dubón singled to give Atlanta a 1-0 lead.
Luckily for Skenes, Pittsburgh’s potent offense grew a three-run lead in the bottom half of the inning. Ryan O’Hearn hammered a grand slam into the right-center-field seats, flipping the game and giving Skenes a cushion.
Each time Skenes missed the strike zone on a first-pitch fastball, he bounced off the mound in disappointment. The three-time All-Star posted a career-worst seven earned runs in his last start. He won’t pitch in next Tuesday’s Midsummer Classic, as he’s scheduled to pitch on Sunday against the Brewers and Jacob Misiorowski.
While the winless streak has made headlines, Skenes is one who doesn’t allow the outside noise to affect him.
“We just want to win,” Pirates manager Don Kelly said. “And whether it's Paul or whoever that's on the mound … I don't know if it's about the streak, I think that it's just Paul is a competitor that wants to win, and he does block out the noise very well, and it's hard. That's hard to do when you're as good as he is, and the expectations that he puts on himself to be able to navigate that.”
Skenes bounced back in the second by retiring the side in order, striking out two more batters. In the third, the top of Atlanta’s lineup carved in with two hits and a run, but Skenes didn’t allow things to go further. He worked the minimum in the fourth by inducing a 4-6-3 double play, holding onto an even bigger lead thanks to another O’Hearn homer.
When the Braves threatened again in the fifth, Skenes worked another double play, this time athletically catching and holding the bag on the back end of a 3-6-1 turn. Dubón doubled in the sixth, but Skenes asserted his dominance again and didn’t allow a run to score. Skenes’ four strikeouts were his third fewest in a start this year.
After 95 pitches (66 strikes), Skenes was out of the game, and he exited to a standing ovation. O’Hearn added on to finish out his historic night and secure a win for Skenes and Co. The slugger had plenty to say about his teammate.
“I think Paul's been pitching great,” O’Hearn said. “The media may say otherwise, but I think he's pitched fine. We've made some mistakes behind him the last few games and haven't given him a ton of run support, but I think Paul's fine, and he showed that tonight.
“He's one of the premier starters in the league, and he's got great stuff, and he knows how to pitch, and you obviously can't say enough about how valuable he is for us, and tonight was cool to get him a win. [He] probably knows that he hasn't got a win in a while. Obviously he knows. You can't miss it, but I know it feels good to kind of get that monkey off his back and get back in the win column.”
The pain and suffering is over. Pittsburgh won with its ace on the mound for the first time in 56 days. Now, amid one of the most consequential homestands of the season, Skenes is already looking toward what’s next.
“It's great to help the team win,” Skenes said. “Can't wait until Sunday.”