Pirates Announce Time Change for Paul Skenes Bobblehead Game
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PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates made a surprising decision for their upcoming game at home, with Paul Skenes on the mound.
The Pirates announced that they are moving up their first pitch time from 4:05 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. for their next game vs. the Tampa Bay Rays at PNC Park, due to impending weather. All gates to PNC Park will open at 2:30 p.m. as well.
Huge patches of rain are moving westward and will bring thunderstorms and impact the game, bringing it to a halt, or potentially cancelling it, due to the severity.
The Pirates have had just one rain delay this season, which only impacted first pitch by 15 minutes, so getting ahead of rain gives them a chance to get the game in before the rain comes in.
Paul Skenes Bobblehead Game Should Bring Big Crowd
It is a big game for the Pirates, as they are unveiling another Skenes bobblehead for fans attending the game, making sure that every single fan that comes through the gates gets one this season.
They released their first Skenes bobblehead back on April 19, 2025, which saw the biggest crowd of the season, 37,713 paid attendance.
It saw huge lines ahead of the game, as there were only 20,000 bobbleheads, so fans showed early to try and get one, which led to many fans disappointed and scalpers looking to make a big profit.
The Pirates eventually announced that every fan that scanned their ticket would get a Skenes bobblehead, which came in the form of an electronic voucher that fans could go to the the team store and pick it up.
Pittsburgh doesn't have to deal with this problem for this season, as they're ensuring that all fans get one that attend this game.
The cheapest ticket on the Pirates site is $65, with few inventory remaining, as fans come to see one of the best pitchers in baseball and get his bobblehead.
Skenes Getting Back to Cy Young Form
Skenes will also make his fifth start of the season and third at PNC Park, as he looks to keep up his great form, following a disastrous Opening Day vs. the New York Mets at Citi Field on March 26, where he didn't make it out of the first inning after giving up five runs.
He has allowed just three earned runs over his last 17.1 innings pitched for a 1.56 ERA, with just six hits and five walks allowed as well, while posting 17 strikeouts.
Skenes had a great showing vs. the Washington Nationals in the 16-5 win in the series opener at PNC Park on April 13, allowing just one hit, one walk and one earned run over six innings, with six strikeouts.
He, surprisingly, has the highest ERA of any Pirates starter at 4.00, but he should continue bringing that down if he keeps pitching like this.
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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.