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Paul Skenes Admits It’s Been ‘Difficult’ Dealing With Pirates’ Recent Struggles

Tim Capurso

Sunday's 1-0 loss was the sixth time the Pirates have lost when Skenes has allowed one run or fewer.
Sunday's 1-0 loss was the sixth time the Pirates have lost when Skenes has allowed one run or fewer. / Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
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There's an old adage in baseball—and in life: Control what you can control.

Pittsburgh Pirates star pitcher Paul Skenes ascribes to that belief. But in the aftermath of the Pirates' 1-0 loss to the Philadephia Phillies on Sunday, a game in which Skenes yielded just one run in eight innings pitched, the 22-year-old admitted that striving to do so has been "difficult" lately.

"Not everything is within any other individual in here's power," Skenes said when asked if it's been difficult to see strong results not leading to team wins. "That's how we get going a little bit. Just control what we can control on an individual level. That's been my focus. That's always been my focus."

"That's probably been a little bit more difficult this last month or so, but there's nowhere else to go but to keep going. Just got to keep going."

A Phillies run, scored on a fielder's choice in the bottom of the fifth inning, was all Skenes permitted. But it was all Philadelphia needed against the Pirates lineup, which was blanked by Phillies starter Mick Abel, who tossed six shutout innings in his big league debut.

Unfortunately, the Pirates' spoiling a stellar Skenes start is nothing new. Sunday's game marked the sixth time Pittsburgh has lost when Skenes has allowed one run or fewer in a start, according to Andrew Fillipponi of 93.7 The Fan.

It's enough to make a man look like this.

The juxtaposition of the Pirates' lack of success vs. Skenes's brilliance is simply astounding—and has to be contributing to the young ace's helpless feeling. Above all, Skenes feels a responsibility to the city of Pittsburgh to reverse the fortunes of the Pirates, who have endured six straight losing seasons.

Thus far, the Pirates (15-32) sit in last place in the National League Central and earlier in May fired manager Derek Shelton. It's all happened despite Skenes's best efforts on the mound—he's tied for fifth among all pitchers in WAR in 2025.

It's not hard to see why he'd feel a bit frustrated. And he's not the only one.

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Tim Capurso
TIM CAPURSO

Tim Capurso is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. Prior to joining SI in November 2023, he wrote for RotoBaller and ClutchPoints, where he was the lead editor for MLB, college football and NFL coverage. A lifelong Yankees and Giants fan, Capurso grew up just outside New York City and now lives near Philadelphia. When he's not writing, he enjoys reading, exercising and spending time with his family, including his three-legged cat Willow, who, unfortunately, is an Eagles fan.

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