Paul Skenes Drops Devastating Line After Pirates' 3–0 Loss on His Bobblehead Day

The young ace seemed pretty down in the dumps.

Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes on April 19, 2025. / SportsNet Pittsburgh / X / Screensho

The Pittsburgh Pirates front office had itself a rare W on Saturday when it announced that every fan in attendance for the team's game vs. the Cleveland Guardians—rather than just the first 20,000—would receive a highly coveted Paul Skenes bobblehead, an audible called after droves and droves of spectators descended upon PNC Park.

But unfortunately it wasn't the kind of W that matters—the Pirates were shut out 3–0 in the second game of their three-game series vs. Cleveland, the first of which they lost, 10–7.

For Skenes—one of the few bright spots for long-suffering Pittsburgh fans—even the honor of the well-attended bobblehead day didn't seem enough to ease the pain of another loss.

Asked after the fact what it meant to him that so many people were there for him, Skenes barely cracked a smile. Rather, he briefly acknowledged his flattery before lamenting how he wasn't able to bring home the win for everyone who showed up.

"I mean, it's cool. Wish we would've gotten them a win," he said.

Watch that devastating reaction below:

Paul Skenes on the lines for his bobblehead today & a packed PNC park ⬇️

"It's cool. Wish we would've gotten them a win." pic.twitter.com/Wk4rUnHDgi

— SportsNet Pittsburgh (@SNPittsburgh) April 19, 2025

Surely, the brevity is not to say the pitcher wasn't touched by the turnout; if anything, he was probably just frustrated by the defeat. He didn't seem too keen on himself in bobblehead form, either, but to be honest, that's also very Skenes. He's a stoic guy.

But he has also been clear about his desire to change the expectations surrounding and culture of the Pirates, whether or not team owners (whom Pittsburghers have decried for penny-pinching) want to help.

"There’s something about this city," the pitcher said recently. "We saw it last summer. We’ve seen it in the videos of the wild-card game. I’m tired of watching them because it was a wild-card series. The bar needs to be set pretty high. Not taking anything from those guys. The fact that that’s a golden era of recent Pirates baseball, that needs to change. We owe it to the city."

The TLDR; Skenes wants to win. And the Pirates did exactly the opposite on Saturday, when the ace also recorded his lowest strikeout total of the season (4). On top of that, the team is at the bottom of the National League Central Division right now with an 8–14 record. So safe to say things aren't going well.

But they'll get a chance to start some momentum again on Sunday afternoon when they face the Guardians at 1:35 p.m. ET.

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