For Paul Skenes, latest start consistent with pros and cons of 2025

For Paul Skenes, his latest outing on Monday was emblematic of his overall season.

In a 4-3 Pirates loss to the New York Mets, expected dominance wasn’t to be found in a no-decision. Yet, a pretty good line score at the end of the night emerged.

Skenes went six innings in Queens. He only allowed one earned run, but he did yield six hits and three walks, tossing 92 pitches with six strikeouts along the way.

“Could’ve been better,” Skenes said on SportsNet Pittsburgh after the game. “Just spraying it a little bit too much when I shouldn’t have. It’s just something we’ve been working through. That’s, frankly, probably as bad as it gets.”

Skenes had to deal with self-inflicted traffic all night. He had two runners on base in the first and second innings. He gave up back-to-back doubles in the fourth, allowing a run. In fact, the third inning was his only 1-2-3 effort of the night.

The second-year right-hander got to six three-ball counts and three full counts.

“Being able to get out of there with one run is a good thing. But if we’re more efficient, maybe we go seven (innings) or eight. Just gotta be better,” Skenes lamented following the team’s loss.

The big thing for Skenes, though, was getting important outs when he needed them. After allowing the first two batters of the game to reach base, Skenes baited Pete Alonso into a double play and struck out Brandon Nimmo.

In the second, with runners on first and second base and one out, Skenes got a much-needed strikeout of Brett Baty, then induced a fielder’s choice out of Luisangel Acuna.

The fifth inning is where Skenes’ stick-to-itiveness really shined. With a man on and the score tied 1-1, Skenes struck out Juan Soto on four pitches, freezing him on the first two, then getting him swinging on an 84-miles-per-hour sweeper. He followed by battling back from a 3-0 deficit to strike out Alonso, ending the inning.

“Early on, he got some traffic on the bases, but he was able to settle down and make some pitches,” manager Don Kelly said. “He got some big double plays and made some pitches when he needed to.”

Skenes then got one more double play to end the inning and his night in the sixth.

“It just comes down to execution. Today, I executed when I needed to. Not every day is like that,” Skenes said.

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Skenes’ earlier assessment of spraying his pitches was a worthy characterization of his night, and his night was a typical reflection of his season.

For just about anyone else, it’d be good enough, and you move on to the next start with applause. For Skenes, coming off of his 1.96 ERA Rookie of the Year season, some are wondering what’s wrong.

“We’re nine starts in right now. There are going to be tendencies that hitters do when they are facing me,” Skenes said. “But different teams take different approaches. In terms of changing the overall game plan, we probably have already. But within the game, there are definitely adjustments we are making.”

That said, his 1.01 WHIP is still fifth-best in the National League. His .201 batting average against is seventh. So is his 2.63 ERA. His 53 strikeouts are eighth.

“He’s got a big pitch mix,” Kelly said. “He’s got the (velocity). He can go to the sweeper. He’s got the splinker. The splinker can get the double plays. So he’s got a lot of pitches in his arsenal to get the timing off on the hitter and get ground balls when he needs it.”

With Skenes, two things can be true. He can still be good, and more can still be expected.

With the Pirates, two things can also be true. They can still be bad, and no one expects anything different.