Pirates' Paul Skenes Dominates Diamondbacks in Shutout Win
In this story:
PITTSBURGH — Right-handed pitcher Paul Skenes baffled the Arizona Diamondbacks, as the Pirates earned a 6-0 shutout win in the series finale at PNC Park.
The Pirates won the game prior, 2-0 on July 26, after losing the series opener 1-0 in extra innings on July 25, making it a series win over the Diamondbacks. They also took two of three games against the Diamondbacks at Chase Field, May 26-28, as they finish 4-2 against them in 2025.
Pittsburgh finishes 5-4 on their first homestand out of the All-Star break, as they swept the Detroit Tigers, July 21-23, and got swept by the Chicago White Sox, July 18-20.
Skenes got through the first inning with ease, but gave up a big fly ball that ended up as a triple for Diamondbacks left fielder Jake McCarthy in the top of the second inning.
He would get out of the inning unscathed, as he struck out Diamondbacks catcher James McCann and got center fielder Alek Thomas to pop out to Pirates shortstop Isiah Kiner-Falefa.
Pirates center fielder Oneil Cruz led off the bottom of the second inning with a walk. Cruz then went to steal second base, but left fielder Tommy Pham hit a single, which made it a hit-and-run situation, as Cruz ran all the way from first base to home plate and scored, making it 1-0.
Oneil Cruz brings the SPEED!
— MLB (@MLB) July 27, 2025
He scored from 1st base on a single ⚡️ pic.twitter.com/s0qK0CcVZd
Skenes allowed a leadoff double to Diamondbacks first baseman Tristin English in the top of the third inning, but struck out right fielder Corbin Carroll, forced second baseman Ketel Marte to ground out and then shortstop Geraldo Perdomo, again keeping the road team from scoring.
Second baseman Nick Gonzales almost hit into an inning-ending double-play for the Pirates in the bottom of the third inning, but just got to first base safely.
Right fielder Bryan Reynolds then came through with a double and Gonzales ran all the way from first base and scored, with Reynolds ending up at first base. Cruz would single right afterwards, scoring Reynolds and making it a 3-0 lead for the Pirates.
Skenes would hit Diamondbacks third baseman Eugenio Suárez with a pitch to start out the top of the fourth inning and then after striking out designated hitter Adrian Del Castillo, gave up a double to McCarthy, putting runners in scoring position.
He then struck out both McCann and Thomas, ending another scoring opportunity for the Diamondbacks and getting up to eight strikeouts.
Skenes would finish off his outing with six scoreless innings, nine strikeouts over 99 pitches and allowing just three hits and a walk in the win.
This marked his second win against the Diamondbacks, as he allowed just four hits and hit a batter over 6.2 innings and 96 pitches, while posting seven strikeouts in the 10-1 series finale victory.
The Pirates added on in the bottom of the sixth inning, as Reynolds got hit by a pitch and then Cruz doubled for his second hit of the day, as Reynolds would score all the way from first base, sliding just ahead of the tag to make it 4-0.
Gonzales led off the bottom of the eighth inning with a single and Pham would hit a ground-rule double with two outs. Third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes then came through with a single, scoring both Gonzales and Pham and increasing the Pirates' advantage to 6-0.
Major Ke Alert 🔔 pic.twitter.com/Hdv0bs9qAb
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) July 27, 2025
Left-handed pitcher Caleb Ferguson threw a scoreless seventh inning for the Pirates in relief, then right-handed pitcher Carmen Mlodzinski finished off the game with two scoreless innings, securing the victory.
The Pirates head out west after the conclusion of their nine-game homestand, as they take on the San Francisco Giants for a three-game series, July 28-30.
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.