Paul Skenes Day: What Pirates Need From Superstar Pitcher
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PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates haven't gotten it done so far vs. the St. Louis Cardinals at home, but thankfully for them, Paul Skenes will take the mound once again this season.
Skenes starts for the Pirates in their series finale against the Cardinals at PNC Park on April 30, where they will try and avoid a four-game sweep against their National League Central Division rival.
This serves as the third divisional opponent that Skenes will take on in 2026, pitching against the Cincinnati Reds and the Milwaukee Brewers prior to this one.
It's also a chance for Skenes to end his April on a high and show everyone that he's still in conversation for the NL Cy Young Award again.
Pirates Need Great Outing From Skenes
Skenes has been excellent in April, with a 4-0 record in five starts, allowing three earned runs over 28.1 innings for a 0.95 ERA, 29 strikeouts to five walks, a .106 batting average allowed (BAA) and a 0.53 WHIP.
He had a perfect game going against the Brewers, before giving up a single with two outs in the bottom of the seventh inning. Skenes still posted seven strikeouts and earned a win in the 6-0 victory at American Family Field on April 24.
Skenes also had a strong outing vs. the Reds back on April 1 at Great American Ball Park, allowing one run over five innings, while posting five strikeouts in the 8-3 win.
It's been an important bounceback month for Skenes after allowing five earned runs and not making it out of the first inning against the New York Mets at Citi Field on Opening Day on March 26.
Skenes wasn't entirely responsible for that outing, as center fielder Oneil Cruz made two poor mistakes, but he didn't pitch to the best of his abilities.
The Pirates bullpen has worked tirelessly since his last start, with 27 innings over the past five games, with one bullpen game in there, but still two games worth of relief pitching.
It is 13 consecutive games without day off and 23 games in 24 days for the Pirates and Skenes could help his bullpen out some more with a strong outing.
For Skenes, he is also looking for his first ever win against the Cardinals, with an 0-4 record in six starts and a 2.39 ERA.
If he can keep his momentum going that he's had this month, then he'll give the Pirates the best chance to win.
Score Early and Often
The Pirates have struggled to put pressure on the Cardinals early this series, as they've fallen behind in the past two defeats and then only scored two runs in the first two innings and then none later on.
Pittsburgh has produced more later on in their past two games, scoring seven runs from the sixth inning onwards in the 11-7 defeat on April 28 and scored four of their runs from the fifth inning onwards in the 5-4 loss on April 29.
The Pirates also had numerous opportunities to get the win in their most recent loss, including Nick Gonzales almost walking it off on a two-run home run which just fell short, so they're getting closer to the result they actually want.
"We're beating it up," Pirates manager Don Kelly said after the game. Talking about it and when you talk about finishing right there — down 5-1, had multiple opportunities, bases loaded, guys on the bases and we're able to push for it and get to four runs. Just fell short."
If the Pirates can finally get those runs early on and Skenes pitches the way that he has, it should lead to an important win and avoid a bad sweep.
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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.