Paul Skenes Shares Confidence With Pirates Fans
In this story:
PITTSBURGH — Paul Skenes hasn't turned it around for the Pittsburgh Pirates this season, but don't tell him that he can't figure it all out going forward.
Skenes struggled in his latest start against the Detroit Tigers in the series finale at PNC Park on Aug. 19, throwing just 4.1 innings, giving up three runs, four hits and four walks and lasting just 81 pitches.
The Pirates ace had gotten extra rest for this start for the first time in his major league career, but there wasn't much improvement in his outing compared to his recent outings.
While the start didn't go the way the Pirates would've hoped, Skenes looked at the positives for this start and how he can get better
Skenes Looks at Bright Side After Tigers Outing
The Pirates moved Skenes' start back from Aug. 16, when he would've faced the Boston Red Sox in the series finale at PNC Park, to three days later for this start against the Tigers.
Skenes struggled in his previous start before as well, throwing just 65 pitches in five innings against the Miami Marlins at loanDepot Park on Aug. 11, giving up only two runs, but also had issues with hard-hit contact and a. 1.2 mph loss of four-seam fastball velocity.
Moving Skenes back gave him some rest after hardly having any since making his debut on May 11, 2024, with him also in the midst of a three-month-long slump.
Skenes was confident postgame, saying his body felt good after his start, although he did feel "a little out of sync the whole outing" with the rotational change.
What he was most pleased with was the short-term benefits he noticed, but also that it should help him the final six weeks of the season too.
"Yeah. Can't hurt," Skenes said on his rest. "Yeah I mean obviously you want it to be perfect. I think it's good just having my body in a really good spot (for) the last month or so of the regular season. Hopefully a substantial number of innings after that."
Command Problems for Skenes Persist
This start for Skenes still showed a lot of problems he's had over the past three months and concern for him actually fixing this before the end of 2026.
Skenes struggled with pitch count, with 24 pitches in the first inning, 15 pitches in the second inning and 16 pitches in the third inning, 55 pitches at that point.
He brought it back down to nine in the fourth inning, but went 17 pitches in the fifth inning, which included giving up a walk, a double and a single, and just one strikeout before departing the game.
The pitch count problems for Skenes are a problem and his walks are also concerning, as he's walked four batters in three of his past four starts, after walking four batters in just five of his first 77 starts in the major leagues.
Skenes got his fastball velocity back up and saw results, with four of his five strikeouts on it, but he got little swing-and-miss on his offspeed pitches, 2-of-13 (15%), and only threw first pitch strikes on nine of his 20 batters (45%).
Despite some struggles with command, Skenes isn't too worried and it's not something he's really struggled with since being with the Pirates.
"Not really," Skenes said on his command. "I know it's a little high recently. But I'm not concerned about it. I don't think it's a pattern that is going to persist over the rest of the season. It needs to be addressed, but not worried about it."
Will Skenes Turn it Around in 2026?
The Pirates ended up winning this game against the Tigers, as rookie Rafael Flores Jr. came off the bench and hit two solo home runs, with his second tying the game in the ninth inning, then second baseman Brandon Lowe won the game with a walk-off home run off the right field foul pole.
It marked just the fourth time the Pirates have won a game Skenes has started in his past 21 starts, a 3-9 record during that time, and it's been quite the struggle for Skenes after winning the 2025 Cy Young Award and 2024 Rookie of the Year Award for the National League.
He's posted a 5.06 ERA over 89.0 innings, 115 strikeouts to 34 walks, giving him an 11.6 K/9, a 3.4 BB/9 and a 3.4 K/BB.
People have come up with all kinds of theories as to why Skenes has struggled, from his mechanics and fatigue, to even more outlandish accusations such as him gaining a significant amount of weight or being in a relationship with celebrity and former LSU gymnast Livvy Dunne.
There's probably a bit of truth to his mechanics and fatigue, but Skenes has tried to stay focused on "what's real and what isn't," like what he sees on the field and the results, versus the outside noise on his performances.
"Yeah, probably a little bit. ... I mean I think 'grinding' is kind of a relative thing," Skenes said. "I would say that in '24 and '25 I grinded at times too. So I think it's kind of how you view it more than anything. Yeah just, I've been learning a lot and I'll continue to learn a lot. Just got to keep going."
"I think there's been a lot of good. I think the walks, it's frustrating. Nobody wants to go out there and walk anybody. Nobody is trying too. So just kind of stuff like that. But for the most part, I think in terms of how I've been attacking hitters. It's really easy to get caught up in the short term too. You've got to look kind of short term and long term and kind of small picture and big picture I guess and just keeping that perspective is really important."
Add us as a preferred source on Google
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.