Pirates Have Paul Skenes Back At His Very Best
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PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates need Paul Skenes at the top of his game in 2026 if they're going to push for the postseason and despite some recent struggles, their ace showed he's still amongst the best in the game.
Skenes dominated for the Pirates in their 7-1 win over the San Diego Padres on April 7 in his first stat at PNC Park. He threw 6.1 innings, allowed just a solo home run, two hits, two walks and hit a batter, while striking out six hitters over 87 pitches in the win.
It could've been an even better start had Skenes maintained his early form, as he didn't allow a hit through the first five innings and had a shutout going through six innings, before giving up a solo home run to Padres shortstop Xander Bogaerts.
Skenes showed that, even after a tough start to the campaign, he will still dominate opposing teams going forward in 2026.
What Worked for Skenes vs. the Padres
First pitch for the Pirates vs. the Padres was just 40 degrees and fell down to 36 degrees by the end of the game, but that didn't phase Skenes at all.
He relied mostly on his high velocity pitches, throwing his four-seam fastball 40% of the time and his sinker 26% of the time, reaching into the 96-97 mph range consistently.
Padres hitters struggled in the cold against the "heat" from Skenes, with four strikeouts on his fastball with a 32% whiff rate and had nine first pitch strikes on both pitches combined.
Skenes only threw one offspeed pitch in the double-digits, with his sweeper, relying less on his breaking stuff and more on just getting over the plate, which clearly worked on the Padres hitters, who were consistently behind.
Pitch | Usage | Average Velocity |
|---|---|---|
Four-Seam Fastball | 35/87 (40%) | 96.7 mph |
Sinker | 23/87 (26%) | 96.4 mph |
Sweeper | 10/87 (11%) | 82.7 mph |
Changeup | 9/87 (10%) | 88.7 mph |
Slider | 7/87 (8%) | 84.3 mph |
Splitter | 3/87 (3%) | 93.7 mph |
Skenes kept it pretty simple postgame, as he stuck with his fastball, which was working and kept him ahead of the count early and often, leading to a strong outing.
“I felt pretty good the whole time," Skenes said. "I wouldn’t say great, I wouldn’t say bad. It was solid all-around. I think the line’s probably a little bit better than it was, but I’m happy with it.”
Why This Means Skenes Is Back
Skenes had a dreadful Opening Day start, where he gave up five runs and didn't make it out of the first inning in the 11-7 defeat to the New York Mets at Citi Field on March 26.
It wasn't entirely his fault, as center fielder Oneil Cruz made two dreadful plays, but Skenes clearly didn't pitch well at all, ending in his shortest major league start.
Skenes responded with a solid showing vs. the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park on April 1, throwing five innings and allowing one run in the 8-3 victory.
But this start shows Skenes really has it back and it's not just a one-off or a decent showing, as he was dominant from start to finish.
Skenes posted a 1.97 ERA last year and a 1.96 ERA as a rookie and two earned runs over his last 11.1 innings pitched is good for a 1.59 ERA, even better than those season totals.
There's always pressure coming off of a Cy Young Award season and then pitching at the World Baseball Classic for Team USA, which could've hurt a player like Skenes in 2026.
His Opening Day performance may have showed that it could've been the case, but knowing Skenes, he was never going to let that become the norm, rather, keeping it as an aberration on an already stellar career.
The Pirates are 7-4 and have playoff aspirations, hoping that they'll end a decade-long drought from meaningful October baseball.
Skenes would take the mound in the first game for the Pirates and even with 151 games left, he's confident that they could get even better as the season progresses.
“Yeah, we’re in a good spot," Skenes said. "A lot of season to go, for sure, but the first couple of weeks have been pretty dang fun. A long way to go. I’m excited to see what it turns into because I don’t even think we’re playing our best baseball yet – which is scary to think about. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”
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.