Paul Skenes Remains Focused Despite Lack of Run Support
In this story:
For the 10th time this season — the most in MLB — the Pittsburgh Pirates were held scoreless, falling 3-0 to the Houston Astros on Tuesday night at PNC Park.
The defeat wasted another stellar performance from phenom pitcher Paul Skenes, who saw his ERA drop to 2.05 but took his sixth loss of the year (4-6). Astros starter Lance McCullers Jr. earned his first win since September 2022 (1-1), and closer Josh Hader sealed the victory with a perfect ninth inning, notching his 16th save.
Paul Skenes lowers his ERA to 2.05, 2nd-best mark in the NL 👏 pic.twitter.com/W5VfoavpKo
— MLB (@MLB) June 4, 2025
The game remained scoreless until the seventh, when Astros first baseman Christian Walker capitalized on a rare mistake from Skenes, launching a solo homer into the left-field bleachers. Houston extended its lead in the ninth when third baseman Isaac Paredes crushed a two-run shot off Pirates reliever Dennis Santana.
After the game, Skenes acknowledged the frustration of another hard-luck loss.
“It’s kind of one of those things where you can only do so much,” Skenes said. “They guessed right. That was enough today. Gotta rewatch the game — I didn’t watch much of our offense — but we’ll watch it again and see what we got tomorrow.”
The 23-year-old emphasized the importance of focusing on what he can control, a mindset he’s had to lean on frequently this season.
“At the end of the day, we all got here by controlling what we can control,” he said. “I think it’s an acquired skill. Gotta get back to that no matter what the situation is, if it’s in-game, pitch to pitch, or large-scale stuff. Just gotta control what you can control.”
One aspect of his game that he can control — and has been noticeably improved this season — is his ability to pitch to soft contact. He still has his wipeout pitches when a strikeout is needed, but it seems as if he is getting more comfortable with inducing soft contact in order to limit his pitch count.
Skenes has now pitched into the seventh inning in three of his last four starts, including two eight inning outings. On May 18, Skenes pitched eight innings of shutout ball in a loss to the Philadelphia Phillies. It was technically a complete game, as the Phillies did not bat in the ninth inning.
When asked after the game if this has been an active part of his game plan recently, Skenes gave a thoughtful answer.
"Yes and no," said Skenes. "It seemed like in the first three innings, there were two or three called strikes - they just weren't swinging. So when we get something like that, it's all about limiting damage."
"So then it opened things up for the swing-and-miss stuff later in the game. I was going to the pitches that are going to eliminate damage, eliminate slug [on the ball], get ground balls and get quick outs," said Skenes.
"You can talk about that all you want before the game, but then you have to realize when the time comes when to [be more efficient]. That's kind of how it's been," he concluded.
Last night, I asked Paul Skenes if it has been part of his game plan recently to pitch to more contact in order to go deeper in games.
— Ethan Merrill (@_ethanjmerrill) June 4, 2025
He said “Yes and no” before explaining his answer. Hear the full response from the 23-year-old who is wise beyond his years 👇 pic.twitter.com/GAUSuM47Bs
The contrast between Skenes’ most recent two starts highlights the Pirates’ offensive inconsistency. Six days ago in Arizona, he received 10 runs of support in a blowout win. Yet over his last five outings — spanning 34.2 innings — he has posted a dominant 1.04 ERA but only a 1-2 record, with the Pirates going 2-3 in those games.
Pittsburgh’s lineup has been plagued by inconsistency, suffering its 10th shutout in just 61 games. The Pirates managed only four hits Tuesday, with McCullers — who entered the game with a 5.89 ERA after missing the past two seasons due to injury — holding them to two hits over six innings.
“The offspeed pitch, we weren’t seeing it real well,”manager Don Kelly said. “He mixed in and out, commanded it, especially backdoor to lefties. Did a real good job with that… We were sitting on the offspeed pitch. Just had a hard time squaring it up.”
The Pirates are now 5-8 in Skenes’ starts this season. In their wins, they’ve averaged 6.6 runs per game, but in the losses, they’ve mustered just 1.75 runs per contest. Kelly believes the team may be pressing at times, particularly in Skenes’ starts, where they’ve been shut out three times.
“It’s a natural question to ask in those moments,” Kelly said, referencing Skenes’ previous outing. “The pitching has done a really good job of staying in the moment, not trying to do too much and keep runs off the board. They’ve done a really good job, and we need to stay with that same approach on offense of passing the baton, not trying to do too much, and when we’ve stayed gap-to-gap in those situations, finding a way to drive the ball.”
Ethan Merrill is from Grand Rapids, MI, and brings with him a diverse background of experiences. After graduating from Michigan State University with a degree in journalism, he worked with the Arizona Diamondbacks for three seasons before settling in the Pittsburgh area in 2020. With a passion for sports and a growing connection to his community, Ethan brings a fresh perspective to covering the Pittsburgh Pirates.