Paul Skenes was removed in the fifth inning Wednesday, pitching 4 1/3 innings and 81 pitches in the Pittsburgh Pirates' 4-3 win over the Detroit Tigers. Skenes allowed three runs on four hits and four walks, striking out five.
This start followed a delay in Skenes's scheduled appearance. The Pirates had pushed back his start by a few days, originally slated for Sunday against the Red Sox, to face Detroit later in the week. Manager Don Kelly indicated that the adjustment was made to give Skenes "a few more days to recover," and not due to any injury.
While Skenes threw more pitches and registered higher velocity on some pitches compared to his previous outing, he also issued four walks, matching a season high. "I think there’s been a lot of good," Skenes said, according to MLB.com. "I think there’s some stuff, the walks. It’s frustrating. Nobody wants to go out there and walk anybody. Nobody’s trying to. … Felt good. Just a little out of sync, I guess, kind of the whole outing, which probably makes sense a little bit with the longer rotation. But nice to be back."
Skenes, who earned National League Rookie of the Year honors in 2024 and the Cy Young Award in 2025, has a 3.95 ERA and 1.14 WHIP across 139 innings this season. This season's performance contrasts with his earlier career numbers, which included a 1.96 ERA and 0.95 WHIP over his first two seasons.
Infielder Brandon Lowe commented on the high expectations surrounding Skenes, suggesting that public perception may be overly critical. "I think the world’s been spoiled on who Paul Skenes really is," Lowe said, according to the Associated Press. "He had probably the best starting stretch to a career ever. And now he’s not the greatest pitcher on the face of the planet for a few months, and people were worried and freaking out a bit."
Skenes stated that focusing on "objective" metrics will be key to regaining his previous form. "Just objective numbers, watching the game, execution, all that stuff," he said. "Not anything from the outside."
