Pirates GM Addresses Paul Skenes Struggles
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PITTSBURGH — Paul Skenes is in the most difficult stretch of his MLB career, but the Pittsburgh Pirates see him making that turnaround quickly.
Skenes has lost three of his past four starts, allowing 12 earned runs over his last 20 innings pitched, resulting in a 5.45 ERA, eclipsing his previous-high of 10 earned runs across four starts.
It's driven Skenes' ERA up to 2.83, much higher than his usually incredible sub-2.00 ERA the past two seasons, and has put him behind in a competitive National League Cy Young Award race.
Skenes being in this position is unusual, but there's reason why the front office, particularly general manager Ben Cherington, have such great belief in Skenes getting back to his best self.
Pirates GM Ben Cherington Confident in Skenes
Cherington spoke about Skenes on The Pirates Insider Show on 93.7 The Fan on June 7 and isn't worried about Skenes, nor his velocity, which is a little lower than what he's thrown at prior.
He did note that Skenes pitching for Team USA in the World Baseball Classic changed up his season preparation, but that they have full confidence in Skenes showing why he's one of the best in baseball for the rest of 2026.
“Well, the highest level of trust in him for sure and he’s still throwing really hard, obviously," Cherington said. "We’ve seen some bounces up and down in the velo, I haven’t seen any significant change since Spring Training, but he’s so good in so many ways. He doesn’t really need to throw 100 [mph] to be successful and he knows that.
“I think over the course of his career, if you look at him compared to other starters, other elite starters, as they sort of advance in their career, in almost every case, they’re not working with their max velocity in every outing. That’s going to be the case with Paul.
"If there is anything different with Paul, we did have the WBC, that simply meant that his preparation for Spring Training was a little bit different than it had been in the two years prior and I think it would be natural and understandable if, as we get into the season, there’s an adjustment from that."
“He’s so conscientious. He’s got such a good plan. He’s just so good at what he does. He’s gonna figure out and full confidence he’s going to give us the best chance the next time he’s out there.”
Skenes Takes On World Series Champions
The Pirates host the Los Angeles Dodgers for a three-game series at PNC Park, June 9-11, and Skenes will take the mound in the series opener.
Skenes had great success against the Dodgers in 2025, throwing 12.1 scoreless innings over two starts in two wins.
He threw 6.1 scoreless innings and posted nine strikeouts in a 3-0 win at Dodgers Stadium on April 25 and then threw six scoreless innings, posted eight strikeouts and allowed just two hits in a 5-3 win on Sept. 4 at PNC Park.
Skenes gave up nine earned runs combined over two starts and 10 innings vs. the Philadelphia Phillies at PNC Park on May 17 and against the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre on May 23.
He then allowed six runs combined over his next two starts, but just two earned runs, thanks to some defensive miscues, against the Chicago Cubs at PNC Park on May 28 and vs. the Houston Astros at Daikin Park on June 3.
While these last four starts haven't gone his way, Skenes is still one of the best pitchers in baseball.
Skenes has the third-lowest WHIP (0.90) and the fifth-lowest batting average allowed (.194), while ranking fifth with a 2.61 FIP (Fielding Independent Pitching), the fourth-lowest FIP (2.93) and the second-lowest expected ERA (2.29).
His last few starts haven't been as efficient, but Skenes can turn things around quickly with a great showing against the reigning, back-to-back World Series Champions.
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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.