PITTSBURGH -- It’s hard to believe there was anybody who didn't foresee Paul Skenes quickly bouncing back from his nightmare Opening Day start. And after flirting with a no-hitter for the bulk of his most recent outing, it’s safe to say he’s back to his old self.
Skenes delivered his best start of the season Tuesday night with 6 1/3 innings of one-run ball in the Pirates' 7-1 win over the Padres at PNC Park. He allowed just two hits while striking out six and walking two.
The right-hander struck out the first two batters of his outing as part of a 1-2-3 first inning. He later walked Manny Machado to lead off the second inning, but then retired three straight, including Xander Bogaerts on a strikeout. Skenes struck out two more in the third inning on just 12 pitches, and he made quick work of San Diego’s hitters once again in the fourth and fifth innings. At one point he retired 11 Padres in a row.
Skenes allowed his first hit of the game with one out in the sixth inning, a hard-hit single by Fernando Tatis Jr. straight through the left side of the infield. An inning later, Skenes made his first true mistake of the game, leaving a letter-high fastball to Bogaerts that the Padres infielder hammered into the left-field bleachers -- the first homer surrendered by a Pirates starter this season.
It ended up being the final pitch of Skenes’ outing.
Skenes ultimately was a victim of a predetermined pitch count, as Pirates manager Don Kelly said pregame the 23-year-old wouldn't throw more than 100 pitches as he builds up his workload in preparation for the long season. Skenes’ four-seamer sat consistently around 96.7 mph, and his control got sharper as the outing progressed, as he needed just 36 pitches to get through innings three through five, and 87 pitches (53 strikes) total.
He’s now allowed just two runs in his past 11 1/3 innings.
The Pirates finally got into the scoring column with two outs in the bottom of the fifth inning, when Oneil Cruz drove home a pair of runners with an opposite-field double down the line, and added five more runs in the eighth, giving Skenes his second win of the season.