Pirates' Paul Skenes Addresses Opening Day Performance
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PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Pirates star pitcher Paul Skenes began the season for his team, making the start on Opening Day.
He pitched 5.1 innings against the Miami Marlins on March 27 at Loandeport, marking his first Opening Day start in his young career.
Skenes had a solid outing, with seven strikeouts, allowing just three hits and two walks for two earned runs over 94 pitches.
“Pretty damn good start, just got a bit sloppy there at the end. Just got to execute a bit better in that sixth inning. Otherwise, I was happy with it.”
"Pretty damn good start. Just got a little sloppy there at the end—just got to execute a little quicker in that sixth inning. Other than that, I was pretty happy with it."
— SportsNet Pittsburgh (@SNPittsburgh) March 27, 2025
Paul Skenes reflects on his first #OpeningDay start. pic.twitter.com/cPAB00Lmu6
He excelled early on, with four strikeouts through the first two innings, but he ran into trouble in the third inning.
He allowed a double to Marlins center fielder Derek Hill on the first pitch. He managed to get three ground balls afterwards, but some sloppy defense from the Pirates infielders brought Hill home for a 1-0 lead.
Skenes kept it scoreless the following two innings, including a six pitch fifth inning, which allowed him to enter the sixth inning.
He struckout the first batter, but then allowed back-to-back walks, resulting in Pirates manager Derek Shelton taking him out.
“Yeah, just got to execute quicker," Skenes said on his mentality. "You know, I mean, really in that sixth inning, got to execute a little bit quicker. Not get into those 3-2 counts and then I think it’s a different story at the end of the day.”
Skenes is coming off of a 2024 season, where he came up on May 11, but still started 23 games, had a 1.96 ERA in 133 innings, allowed just 29 earned runs, 94 hits, six home runs and 32 walks, while making 170 strikeouts and holding opposing hitting to a .198 batting average. He also had a 11.50 K/9 and a WHIP of 0.95.
He was the first member of the Pirates to start for the National League in the All-Star Game since Jerry Reuss did it in 1975, 49 years ago. He was also just the fifth rookie to start an All-Star game.
Skenes won NL Rookie of the Year, made the All-MLB First Team and finished third in the NL CY Young Award voting.
Since he didn't receive his call-up until May, this was Skenes' first Opening Day start, which will serve as the first of many in his future career.
“Yeah, it was a cool environment," Skenes said. "Lot of energy in the building. So yeah, looking forward to next year.”
Shelton praised Skenes for his performance and that he made the pitches he needed, even with some mistakes.
“He scattered the ball a little bit, I mean, he was still able to make pitches and execute pitches going into the sixth [inning] on Opening Day is lengthy, but I thought when he had to make pitches, he did a good job.” Shelton said.
Dominic writes for Pittsburgh Pirates On SI, Pittsburgh Panthers Pn SI and also, Pittsburgh Steelers On SI. A Pittsburgh native, Dominic grew up watching Pittsburgh Sports and wrote for The Pitt News as an undergraduate at the University of Pittsburgh, covering Pitt Athletics. He would write for Pittsburgh Sports Now after college and has years of experience covering sports across Pittsburgh.