Pirates' Paul Skenes Makes One Massive Improvement vs. Padres
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PITTSBURGH — Paul Skenes hadn't shown what made him one of the best pitchers in baseball recently, but the Pittsburgh Pirates ace finally delivered.
Skenes was excellent for the Pirates in their 1-0 win over the San Diego Padres at Petco Park on Aug. 24, throwing six scoreless innings and getting back to his best pitching.
It wasn't quite the most dominant performance with four strikeouts, but Skenes had a clean outing, just three hits allowed and no walks issued.
Skenes is constantly working on how he can improve, particularly through his recent slump, but he had success against the Padres thanks to how he started his at-bats.
Paul Skenes tonight:
— Platinum Key (@PlatinumKey13) August 26, 2026
6.0 IP, 3 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 4 SO
87 pitches, 55 strikes, 13 whiffs
HELL. YEAH. HE'S BAAAAACK pic.twitter.com/2asNDXKCG3
Skenes Attacks Padres Lineup Right From the Start
One of the areas where Skenes struggled in his recent starts was his lack of first pitch strikes, which set him behind in counts, ran up his pitch count and made for harder at-bats.
He got first pitch strikes on 15 of the 21 batters he faced on the Padres, a 71% clip, which helped him establish how he attacked those hitters in the at-bats going forward.
“Yeah that’s always important," Skenes said to SportsNet Pittsburgh on his success with first-pitch strikes. "It’s a lot harder to pitch well when you’re behind in the count. Had really good execution pre-two strikes today.”
It was the first time that Skenes had hit 70% or higher on first pitch strikes in an outing since July 12 vs. the Milwaukee Brewers at PNC Park, where he had a 75% clip, 15 of 20 batters, in the last game before the All-Star break.
Paul Skenes Second Half First Pitch-Strike Rate
Opponent (Ball Park) | Date | First-Pitch Strike Rate |
|---|---|---|
Cleveland Guardians (Progressive Field) | July 19 | 50% (13/26) |
Chicago Cubs (PNC Park) | July 25 | 56% (14/25) |
Cincinnati Reds (Great American Ball Park) | July 31 | 55% (12/22) |
Milwaukee Brewers (American Family Field) | Aug. 5 | 50% (10/20) |
Miami Marlins (loanDepot Field) | Aug. 11 | 57% (11/21) |
Detroit Tigers (PNC Park) | Aug. 19 | 45% (9/20) |
San Diego Padres (Petco Park) | Aug. 25 | 71% (15/21) |
The results show up with these in that Skenes went six innings for the second time following the All-Star break on just 87 pitches, with his seven innings versus the Cleveland Guardians at Progressive Field on July 19.
Skenes was also able to get ground balls and fly balls for outs consistently, particularly later on in his outing, with just one hit over his final three innings.
It also kept him from having long innings, with his 19-pitch second inning the longest of his night.
“I thought, just best outing in a while for Paul for me," Pirates manager Don Kelly said. "Velo’ seemed to tick up a little bit. Command was much, much better. Throwing all pitches for strikes. To get through six innings, they have a good lineup and to go six…I thought it was the best outing that he’s had in a while.”
Other Important Things Skenes Achieved vs. Padres
Skenes wasn't getting the velocity that he had in prior years, but showed that he can still throw those pitches with authority.
He increased his velocity on all of his pitches, besides his sweeper, but that was such a minimal drop that it was hardly noticeable.
Skenes Pitch by Velocity/Average Velocity
Pitch | Velocity (Padres) | Average Velocity |
|---|---|---|
Four-Seam Fastball | 97.2 mph | 96.8 mph |
Sinker | 96.8 mph | 96.6 mph |
Slider | 87.4 mph | 86.7 mph |
Sweeper | 84.2 mph | 84.3 mph |
Splitter | 93.3 mph | 93.2 mph |
Changeup | 88.9 mph | 88.7 mph |
Skenes is getting his four-seam fastball up to 97.2 mph and as high as 98.0 mph, plus his sinker is getting up to 98.6 mph as well.
The Pirates ace had strategically dropped his velocity, as a part of plans for the long-term future for him and staying healthy, from his 98 mph average throughout his first two seasons.
Skenes did drop a tad too far, down to 95.7 mph average vs. the Miami Marlins at loanDepot Park on Aug. 11, but was able to get it back up to 96.8 mph average against the Detroit Tigers at PNC Park on Aug. 18, with a further increase vs. the Padres, another welcome sign.
Even more encouraging was the movement he got on his pitches, particularly his sinker against Padres catcher Luis Campusano struck out on a foul tip, with Skenes putting it on the corner away and down perfectly.
Paul Skenes, Vicious 99mph Sinker. 😤 pic.twitter.com/MaUFUwpg4e
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) August 26, 2026
Skenes attributed much of his success to his execution, which also helped him with the zero walks after posting four walks in three of his past four starts.
He also said that his body felt good overall against the Padres, which allowed his delivery when pitching to sync up and get back to higher velocities than he had the past few starts.
“...Felt good," Skenes said. "Think, body probably getting into a little bit better of a spot. The flow of the delivery. It’s a been a little hit-and-miss I think this year. Today was a good day with that.”
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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.