Paul Skenes didn’t have his best stuff on Friday night, but he pitched the Pittsburgh Pirates out of their ten game losing streak, leading a 5-3 win.
The Rookie of the Year candidate threw six innings, allowing two runs on three hits, with four walks and six strikeouts. The two runs came on a two run homer in the fourth inning.
One year removed from college, Skenes is entering a territory where he’ll be pitching deeper into the season than ever, and throwing more innings than ever. He threw 122.2 innings in college last year, along with 6.2 innings in a brief appearance in pro ball. After his start on Friday, he’s at 125.1 innings pitched this season.
The next start from Skenes should push him to his career-high in innings pitched. More significantly, he’s never worked as a starter this deep into the season.
There might be some fatigue kicking in, as Skenes was down one MPH on several of his pitches on Friday, and without his usual effectiveness. He has a combined 24% called and swinging strike rate, with three of his pitches ending up 20% or lower. Along with the control problems, it wasn’t the best night for Skenes.
Still, a bad night for Skenes is better than most pitchers. After his start on Friday, he’s got a 2.30 ERA in 98 innings, with 121 strikeouts.
It remains to be seen how the Pirates will handle Skenes down the stretch. He’s a Rookie of the Year contender, but is also in his first full professional season. They’ve said they don’t want to shut him down, but getting him some rest might be a possibility in the final six weeks.
Personal Catcher
Skenes seems to prefer pitching to Yasmani Grandal. The veteran catcher has been paired with the rookie phenom every start since June 5th.
Grandal seems to prefer Skenes.
On the season, Grandal is hitting .202 with a .591 OPS. That’s not the case when Skenes is on the mound. In games started by Skenes, Grandal is batting .353/.365/.627, with all four of his home runs this season.
This continued on Friday night, when Grandal went 2-for-4, including hitting the game tying home run in the fifth inning. He currently has an eight-game hitting streak with Skenes on the mound, hitting three home runs during that stretch.
Perhaps it’s the velocity and the movement on the pitches that pushes Grandal to a new level. He did miss a few pitches on Friday, but he more than made up for it with the bat.
Injuries in the Seventh
Oneil Cruz was removed from the game with left ankle discomfort. He left after hitting a double in the seventh inning, which put the Pirates up 5-2. Cruz was rounding second base, stopped to go back to the bag, and pulled up hurt.
Andrew McCutchen was removed earlier in the inning with left knee discomfort. He was removed after a single that put runners at first and third, two at-bats before Cruz delivered the two-out hit.
Pirates Prospect Watch
Bubba Chandler struck out 11 batters in six shutout innings during his latest Triple-A gem. Henry Davis had multiple hits for his third straight game. Carlson Reed made his third start in Greensboro. Pirates 17th round pick Andrew Patrick picked up his first professional hit. Read about all of Friday’s action in the latest Pirates Prospect Watch.
