Pirates' Paul Skenes Gets Bounce Back Opportunity After Opening Day
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PITTSBURGH — Paul Skenes had a rough start on Opening Day, but he's got another chance to make up for it in the near future for the Pittsburgh Pirates.
The right-handed starting pitcher is scheduled for the Pirates' series finale vs. the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park on April 1, with first pitch set for 12:40 p.m.
Skenes made his first start of the season vs. the New York Mets at Citi Field on Opening Day on March 26. which served as the worst outing of his MLB career.
He only got two outs, not making out of the first inning, the first time he's done that in the major leagues. He gave up four hits, two walks and five earned runs and took a loss with a 67.50 ERA in the 11-7 defeat.
Skenes wasn't entirely responsible for the defeat, as two mistakes from center fielder Oneil Cruz brought home four of the five runs, but he clearly didn't have his best stuff and will look to get that back against the Reds.
Paul Skenes' History vs. the Reds
Skenes has had great success against Cincinnati, putting up his best performances against them than any other team.
Stat | Total |
|---|---|
Games Started | 5 |
ERA/Innings Pitched | 0.31/29.0 |
Hits/Walks/Runs Allowed | 21/2/1 |
Strikeouts | 40 |
Skenes made his final start of the 2025 season against the Reds, also at Great American Ball Park, on Sept. 24.
He had a strong outing, throwing six scoreless innings, allowing just four hits, and posting seven strikeouts over 85 pitches in a no decision that the Pirates would win 4-3 in 11 innings.
It was one of many great starts Skenes made in 2025, which won him his first National League Cy Young Award.
This will serve as Skenes' third career start at Great American Ball Park, with his fist coming on Sept. 22, 2024, his penultimate outing of his rookie campaign.
Skenes excelled against the Reds, giving up just two hits and hitting a batter over five scoreless innings, while he posted nine strikeouts over 73 pitches in the 2-0 victory.
He has made three other starts vs. the Reds, all coming at PNC Park. His most recent home start vs. the divisional rival came on Aug. 7, 2025, where he allowed a season-high seven hits, but got out of some jams and threw six scoreless innings, made eight strikeout over 97 pitches in the 7-0 win.
Skenes faced Cincinnati twice at home vs. as a rookie in 2024, with his first career start on June 17 and his second on Aug. 22
He posted seven strikeouts, gave up six hits and an earned run over six innings in the 4-1 win in his first start and then posted nine strikeouts, allowing a walk and two hits, over six scoreless innings in the 7-0 shutout victory in his second start.
Who Else Will Pitch for Pirates vs. Reds
The Pirates will have their two rookies start off the series vs. the Reds, in right-handed pitchers Braxton Ashcraft for the series opener on March 30 and Bubba Chandler for March 31. Both games have a first pitch time of 6:40 p.m.
Ashcraft has made two starts vs. the Reds, on at PNC Park and one at Great American Ball Park.
His last start was on the road on Sept. 25, his last outing of 2025. He gave up a season-high eight hits and two walks over 4.1 innings, including two earned runs and posted five strikeouts in the 2-1 loss.
Ashcraft made his first start vs. the Reds at home on Aug. 9, his second career start, where he threw just 56 pitches over 3.1 innings, but gave up just one run over 3.1 innings, while posting five strikeouts in a no-decision in the eventual 2-1 loss.
Chandler hasn't faced the Reds yet, as he made his MLB debut on Aug. 22 last year, and will hope that he maintains his spot in the rotation the entire season.
He dazzled in his final three starts of 2025, posting 19 strikeouts and giving up just six hits and two earned runs over 16.2 innings pitched for a 1.08 ERA.
Chandler hasn't started since March 12 vs. the Atlanta Braves in Spring Training, where he posted eight strikeouts over five innings, giving up a solo home run.
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.