Pirates’ Paul Skenes Opens Up About Struggling Season
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PITTSBURGH — Paul Skenes and the Pittsburgh Pirates are now in the second half of the 2026 season and it's one that has gone a bit differently than expected.
Skenes just completed his most recent start vs. the Cincinnati Reds at PNC Park on June 26, where he had a rough second inning, giving up four runs and finishing his outing after just five innings, in the eventual 6-4 defeat.
It's a start that isn't a shock for Skenes, who hasn't won a game in more than a month and a half and is having the roughest stretch of his MLB career so far.
Yet, even with these struggles, he's still featured as one of the best pitchers in baseball, despite not having the stats he normally does.
Where Skenes is at After the Midway Point
Skeens has a 6-7 record through 17 starts in 2026, with a 3.10 ERA over 93.0 innings pitched, 114 strikeouts to 20 walks, a .205 batting average allowed and a 0.97 WHIP.
His ERA is more than a point higher than his previous two seasons, where he posted a 1.96 ERA in 2024 and a 1.97 ERA in 2025, winning the National League Rookie of the Year and Cy Young Awards in respective years.
Much of the difference for Skenes is the juxtaposition between his first nine starts and his last eight starts, which shows much different results for the Pirates ace.
Stat | First Nine Starts | Last Eight Starts |
|---|---|---|
W-L | 6-2 | 0-5 |
Innings Pitched | 50.0 | 43.0 |
ERA (ER) | 1.98 (11) | 4.40 (21) |
Strikeouts/Walks | 56/7 | 58/13 |
Hits/HR | 25/4 | 45/5 |
It's even more drastic when you take out the Opening Day debacle, where Skenes gave up five runs and didn't make it out of the first inning vs. the New York Mets at Citi Field on March 26, thanks to some poor defense from center fielder Oneil Cruz.
Skenes posted a 1.09 ERA over the next eight starts following that one, with just six earned runs over 49.1 innings pitched and looked on his way towards battling for a second straight Cy Young Award.
He's given up five earned runs once and four earned runs twice during this stretch, while allowing at least two runs in every start.
Skenes has also struggled getting batters out with two strikes, leading to longer at-bats and high pitch counts, throwing at least 92 pitches in every start and 100 pitches in five starts, while not pitching through the seventh inning in any of them.
Skenes Looks at First Half of 2026
It's been a rough stretch for Skenes, but one that doesn't quite show that he's still dominant, perhaps less so than his incredible first two seasons.
He's still amongst the top MLB pitchers, with the fifth-lowest WHIP, eighth-lowest BAA and 16th-lowest ERA amongst qualified pitches, along with the second-best K/9 (11.03), fourth-best K/BB (5.70) and the 11th-lowest BB/9 (1.94).
Skenes also has the second-lowest expected ERA (2.63) and the sixth-lowest expected FIP (3.02) amongst MLB pitchers.
His other advanced metrics show him still dominating like he has in the past, with his four-seam fastball just as good as it was last year and his hard contact rates about the same for his entire pitch mix.
The 24-year old Pirates starting pitcher isn't used to this kind of stretch, but he's kept a strong mindset throughout and is pleased with his showing so far.
"I'm happy with it overall," Skenes said on his first half of 2026. "I think it's been a little bit odd. But in terms of the controllables. I've been happy with how I've been throwing and just gonna continue to get better."
Skenes will most certainly earn a spot at the All-Star Game and has had some fantastic outings this season that show he can get back to doing so in the near future.
His two starts before his slump were some of the best of his career, throwing eight scoreless innings and giving up just two hits in each outing with a combined 17 strikeouts vs. the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field on May 6 and vs. the Colorado Rockies at PNC Park on May 12.
Skenes also took a perfect game into the seventh inning vs. the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field on April 24 and had a stretch of not issuing a walk for over a month before his recent stretch.
It may take some luck, but a couple good outings before the All-Star break could play a big role in Skenes turning things around and getting back to the pitcher he's been most of his career.
Skenes understands he hasn't been as effective, but he's focusing on what he can do and not letting outside factors or tough plays distract him from what he's been able to do on the mound this season.
"Gotta remember what's real," Skenes said. "Same thing I've been saying for eight starts now."
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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.