Perrotto: Paul Skenes Puts Pirates Back on Their Axis

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates’ world has been spinning out of control since opening day.

Terrible play on the field. Public relations blunders off the field.

It has been a whirlwind of negativity since the Marlins walked off the Pirates on in the opener on March 27 in Miami. The Pirates are 6-11 and it’s a well-deserved record punctuated by poor hitting, suspect pitching, bad defense and abysmal baserunning.

However, the Pirates finally found someone to restore order Monday night. Not surprisingly, it was Paul Skenes.

The big right-hander is the Pirates’ most dependable player despite being 22 years old. Skenes rarely has a bad outing, and he’s usually superb.

Skenes had a quality start when the Pirates needed it after being swept in a three-game weekend series by the Cincinnati Reds. The Pirates responded with a 10-3 thumping of the Washington Nationals in the opener of a four-game set at PNC Park.

Skenes took a one-hit shutout into the sixth before giving up two runs – one earned – in his final inning. The Nationals managed three hits against Skenes, who struck out six and walked none while throwing 99 pitches.

The Pirates scoring a season-high in runs to go with a season-best 14 hits got everyone’s attention. However, Skenes stopping the losing streak is another sign of his greatness.

The Pirates desperately needed something good to happen after managing just 10 hits in three games in Cincinnati. Skenes put them in position to notch the victory with his quality start.

“That’s what I was trying to do today,” said Skenes of being the stopper. “It’s good to get a win and hopefully start another streak here of a couple wins. We’ve got some good arms coming up and I think the bats are coming alive, too. We’ll see. It’s hopefully going to be pretty exciting here.”

That was typical Skenes, who is modest and humble. He would not take the credit he deserved.

While Pirates manager Derek Shelton appreciated his offense finally erupting, he knew how important it was for Skenes to rise to the occasion. It was impressive considering Skenes was coming off the worst outing of his nascent 26-start career when he gave up five runs in six innings last Tuesday in losing to the St. Louis Cardinals.

“I think that’s what you expect out of guys with his stuff,” Shelton said. “I mean, we did not play great in Cincinnati, and we got pitched to a little bit and he stopped it and that’s exactly what you’d expect from someone like that.”

Skenes was able to adjust on the fly. Catcher Endy Rodriguez sustained a laceration on his right index finger in the first inning while trying to block a pitch that bounced in the dirt and left the game.

Henry Davis was called on for emergency duty behind the plate. While Skenes and Davis worked together a few times at Triple-A Indianapolis last season, it was the first time they had formed a battery in the major leagues.

Skenes and Davis also became the first pair of players selected first overall in the amateur draft to be batterymates in major-league history. The Pirates selected Davis in 2021 from the University of Louisville, then took Skenes two years later from LSU.

“He can call a game. He can catch,” Skenes said. “He was prepared. It’s not a surprise. I’ve been with him for the better part of two years now, and you want to see why he’s the type of player he is, you don’t have to look very far. He’s one of the most prepared players I’ve ever been around. For him to come into a tough situation, call the game and catch as well as he did — says a lot about him.”

It said even more about Skenes that he pitched a gem when the Pirates needed him.