Paul Skenes Leads Pirates to Win Over Padres
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PITTSBURGH — Paul Skenes is one of the best pitchers in baseball and he showed exactly why in the Pittsburgh Pirates most recent win.
Skenes held the Padres to just one run and the bullpen came through to give the Pirates a 7-1 victory over the San Diego Padres at PNC Park, with the offense adding insurance runs late on to make it a much bigger win.
The Pirates have kept up their winning, with seven wins in their past nine games, including four wins in five games on this homestand.
Pittsburgh is now 7-4 on the season and the 2025 National League Cy Young Award winner is a big reason for their latest victory.
Paul Skenes Has Best Start of 2026
Skenes gave up five earned runs and didn't make it out of the first inning on Opening Day vs. the New York Mets at Citi Field on March 26.
He bounced back vs. the Cincinnati Reds, giving up just one run over five innings, but dominated vs. the Padres for his best showing so far this season.
Skenes gave up just two hits, two walks, a run and hit a batter over 6.1 innings, while posting six strikeouts over 87 pitches, giving the Pirates an incredible outing.
He didn't even give up a hit until the top of the sixth inning, walking third baseman Manny Machado in the top of the second inning and then hitting designated hitter Miguel Andujar in the top of the fifth inning.
Skenes' no-hit bid ended in the sixth inning, as he gave up a single to right fielder Fernando Tatis Jr., but got out unscathed, thanks to a double play from Pirates infield duo of second baseman Nick Gonzales and shortstop Konnor Griffin.
He went back out in the seventh inning, but allowed a solo home run to Padres shortstop Xander Bogaerts, who hit a 96.4 mph four-seam fastball in the inside top part of the strike zone and sent it 383 feet into the left field bleachers.
Skenes went out after that and right-handed pitcher Isaac Mattson got the final two outs to keep his win-bid alive.
He relied heavily on the four-seam fastball, as expected, but also used his sinker, with 66% of his pitches as high velocity.
Pitch | Usage | Average Velocity |
|---|---|---|
Four-Seam Fastball | 36/87 (41%) | 96.7 mph |
Sinker | 22/87 (25%) | 96.5 mph |
Sweeper | 12/87 (14%) | 82.9 mph |
Changeup | 9/87 (10%) | 88.7 mph |
Slider | 5/87 (6%) | 84.4 mph |
Splitter | 3/87 (3%) | 93.7 mph |
Left-handed pitcher Gregory Soto threw a scoreless eighth inning and then right-handed pitcher Yohan Ramírez came in for his second straight game, closing out the ninth inning with a scoreless frame to secure the win.
Pirates Break the Deadlock, Add to Lead Late On
The Pirates, like the Padres, struggled to get anything going offensively, as right-handed pitcher Nick Pivetta excelled early on, with five strikeouts through three innings.
Catcher Henry Davis was the first baserunner, getting a double after Padres first baseman Gavin Sheets and Tatis let a ball drop in front of them in the bottom of the third inning and then right fielder Ryan O'Hearn walked in the bottom of the fourth inning, but neither came around to score.
First baseman Spencer Horwitz singled with one out in the bottom of the fifth inning and then Griffin reached first base safely after beating out the throw from Machado, putting two runners on for the Pirates.
Center fielder Oneil Cruz would come through with two outs, slashing a ball down the third base line past Machado, which scored both Horwitz and the speedy Griffin to give the Pirates a 2-0 lead.
Oneil drives in2⃣ to put us on the board! pic.twitter.com/nVsJB1d3e3
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) April 8, 2026
The Pirates then loaded the bases in the bottom of the eighth inning, with left fielder Bryan Reynolds singling past Sheets, who missed on the ball, O'Hearn singling and then third baseman Nick Yorke reaching on an error from Bogaerts.
Pittsburgh then got three straight singles from Gonzales, pinch-hitter Jake Mangum and Griffin, scoring five runs to make it a 7-1 lead.
Griffin made that his second hit of the game and his first multi-hit game of his MLB career, after having just one hit in his first in his first 14 at-bats.
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.