DENVER -- Prior to Saturday night’s 2-1 loss to the Rockies at Coors Field, Pirates manager Don Kelly said that Paul Skenes has set the bar so high after winning the National League Rookie of the Year Award in 2024, and then the NL Cy Young Award last year, that when he has an “off” stretch on the mound (by his standards), it seems peculiar.
“It just speaks to the talent he’s got, and expectations that are a little bit elevated for him,” Kelly said. “And he set that bar with what he did the first two years. And there’s nobody that expects more out of Paul Skenes than Paul Skenes expects out of himself. … And when we talk about his ‘down’ starts, they’re still pretty good.”
Skenes was good on Saturday against Colorado in the most hitter-friendly park in the Majors, limiting the Rockies to two runs on four hits, walking two and striking out eight over six innings. He also hit two batters, and gave up an inside-the-park home run to the first batter he faced, Jake McCarthy.
But “good” for the average MLB starting pitcher is not where Skenes wants to be. Saturday’s outing was Skenes’ third consecutive start in which he yielded two runs, and his season ERA stands at 2.86. He has struck out 107 batters in 88 innings and continues to be one of the elite starters in the game. His career ERA is 2.16.
But it’s not resulting in wins -- for Skenes or the Pirates, who had lost six straight games Skenes started entering play on Saturday. That’s because, beyond Skenes not pitching to his incredibly high standards, the Pirates have not been scoring runs in his starts. That continued through his six innings on Saturday, when the Bucs’ lineup produced one run on four hits.