One Bad Pitch Costs Paul Skenes in Loss to Astros; Pirates Shut Out for 10th Time

PITTSBURGH — Paul Skenes made one bad pitch during his start against the Houston Astros on Tuesday night. The rest was more dominance. 

Though Skenes had yet another excellent start, the Pittsburgh Pirates were shut out for the 10th time this season and fell 3-0 at PNC Park. 

How We Got There

Skenes (4-6) cruised through the first six innings of his start and was two batters over the minimum.

But with one out in the seventh inning, Skenes hung a first-pitch sweeper to Christian Walker, who hit a solo home run to left field to put the Astros (33-27) ahead 1-0. 

Skenes completed 8.0 innings for the second time in his last four starts and allowed one run on three hits with one walk and eight strikeouts. He retired four of the last five batters he faced via strikeout. 

While Skenes was excellent, so was Astros starter Lance McCullers Jr, who blanked the Pirates (22-39) across 6.0 innings. 

Isaac Paredes hit a two-run home run off Dennis Santana in the ninth to extend their lead to 3-0.

Key Moment

The one bad pitch.

WALKER BOMB!#BuiltForThis pic.twitter.com/SyQFK9IcOp

— Houston Astros (@astros) June 4, 2025

Star of the Game

Lance McCullers Jr. got his first win since Sep. 21, 2022 against the Tampa Bay Rays. He allowed a pair of singles, walked one and struck out seven. 

Notable Performances

• Paul Skenes: 8.0 innings, three hits, one run, one walk, eight strikeouts, 98 pitches/67 strikes
• Isiah Kiner-Falefa: 2 for 3, one steal

Stat to Know

Paul Skenes has completed 8.0-plus innings three times in his career. He’s 0-3 in those starts. The Pirates lost 2-1 against the Cardinals on July 23, 2024 when Skenes pitched a career-high 8.1 innings and were blanked 1-0 in Skenes’ 8.0-inning complete game in Philadelphia last month. 

Noteworthy

• Paul Skenes has a 1.04 ERA (4er/34.2ip) over his last over his last five starts. He hasn’t allowed more than one run in any of those outings.
• Isaac Paredes’ home run was the first Dennis Santana allowed since last season on August 2. It also snapped a stretch of nine-straight scoreless outings from the Pirates’ right-hander.
• The Pirates reinstated INF Nick Gonzales from the 60-day injured list and outrighted INF/OF Nick Solak to Triple-A Indianapolis. Gonzales went 1 for 3 with an infield single and played second base in his return.
• The Pirates also recalled RHP Kyle Nicolas from Indianapolis. RHP Tanner Rainey was DFA’d on Monday.

Up Next

RHP Mike Burrows (0-1, 8.64 ERA) will make his third-career start on Wednesday night. Fellow rookie RHP Ryan Gusto (3-2, 4.62 ERA) will be on the mound for the Astros. First pitch: 6:40 p.m. ET.