PITTSBURGH -- Paul Skenes needed a bounceback start. That is, for his standards. The 2024 National League Rookie of the Year and 2025 Cy Young winner allowed a combined nine runs between his last two starts entering Thursday’s finale against the Cubs.
On the eve of his 24th birthday, Skenes rebounded by striking out 10 North Siders -- one shy of a career high -- allowing three runs (one earned) on four hits. He exited the game in the sixth with the Cubs ahead by two runs in the Pirates' eventual 7-2 loss. Skenes’ ERA on the season lowered to 2.89 as the Buccos split the four-game set with their NL Central foe.
Skenes worked his career ERA to 2.12. It’s the fourth-best ERA with a minimum of 300 innings pitched before turning 24. The rest of the list includes players from the 1910s, including a famous two-way player you might know: Babe Ruth.
“That’s cool,” Skenes said calmly when seeing the statistic. “There’s a lot of baseball left.”
Skenes entered with a lifetime 2.94 ERA against Chicago through seven starts. His day and night splits in 2026 thus far were extraordinary, creating a discrepancy of over six points between a 6.57 daytime ERA and a 0.51 nighttime metric. Luckily for Skenes, his first pitch was delivered at 6:42 p.m.
“Coming out of the gate was pretty good,” Skenes said. “I think there were times throughout the game where it was kind of hit and miss, but for the most part found ways to get outs. So I think even in that bad stretch it didn't feel perfect the whole time.”
Skenes made his trek from the Pirates’ dugout to the bullpen 45 minutes before first pitch. He threw a football 30 minutes before action and returned to the dugout five minutes ahead of his splitter to Pete Crow-Armstrong for strike one.
The right-hander went on to strike out Chicago’s center fielder after throwing four straight changeups before a 99.4 mph fastball. Skenes retired the first eight batters he faced before walking Dansby Swanson in the third.
Skenes struck out seven of the first eight batters, using his famed sweeper to produce six whiffs. His seven strikeouts in the first three innings tied a career high, both of the previous occurrences coming during his rookie campaign.
While allowing only three hits through four innings, Skenes’ pitch count rose to 70. Skenes said the high pitch count was a product of too many uncompetitive pitches. In the fourth, Skenes walked Michael Busch, allowed an infield single to Ian Happ and a bloop single to Seiya Suzuki. Suzuki’s single scored Busch to give the Cubs a 1-0 lead.
Two batters reached base in the top of the sixth and manager Don Kelly came out to talk to Skenes. With reliever Mason Montgomery down the steps in the bullpen, Skenes stayed in the game to face Happ. Skenes asked Kelly if he could get one more batter, and the manager agreed.
“He said he had enough left in the tank to keep rolling, and I totally trust him in that. I thought he made, not just in that inning, but thought he threw the ball extremely well tonight,” Kelly said.
Skenes forced an infield grounder, but shortstop Jared Triolo's errant throw to first allowed another run to score and Skenes was lifted for Montgomery. The remaining baserunner, Alex Bregman, scored, but both were unearned runs in the top of the sixth. Pittsburgh’s bullpen then failed to keep the game close as Happ struck again with a two-run homer.