Pirates

Pirates Preview: Paul Skenes Kicks Off Road Trip in Queens

Published

1 month ago

May 12, 2025

Danny Demilio

Photo provided by Matt Lynch

The Pittsburgh Pirates celebrated Mother’s Day with a 4-3 walk-off win over the Atlanta Braves at PNC Park.

Joey Bart played the hero by driving in the winning run in the bottom of the ninth after Carmen Mlodzinski delivered 5.2-shutout innings in his best start of the year.

The Pirates (14-27) will now begin a six-game road trip starting with the National League East-leading New York Mets (26-15) on Monday night.

First pitch is set for 7:10 p.m. ET, and the game will be broadcast on SportsNet Pittsburgh and 93.7 The Fan.

Weather

Mostly cloudy skies with temperatures in the 60s. Winds S at 7-8 mph.

RHP Paul Skenes (3-4, 2.77ERA) Will Start for the Pirates

Skenes took the loss in his last start despite holding the Cardinals to two runs on three hits with six strikeouts in 6.0 innings.

It was a good bounce-back outing for Skenes, who allowed five runs and was tagged for three home runs against the Cubs on May 1.

Though his strikeout numbers have dipped fairly significantly, the right-hander has posted nearly identical stats in WHIP, hits per nine, home runs per nine and walks per nine this season. Opponents are hitting just .192 against him.

Skenes faced the Mets at PNC Park this season and allowed two runs with eight punch outs in 7.0 innings.

LHP David Peterson (2-2, 3.05 ERA) Will Start for the Mets

Peterson allowed four runs but only two were earned across 6.0 innings in his last start on Tuesday in Arizona.

The left-hander has only been charged with more than two runs in a start one time this season and went five starts in a row without allowing a home run prior to his most recent.

Despite a strong start to his season, opponents have hit a healthy .262 against Peterson on the year, though he generates groundballs 56.5% of the time.

Peterson has made three appearances/two starts against Pittsburgh in his career and has allowed four runs on nine hits with 14 strikeouts in 10.1 innings.

Mets Hitters vs. Skenes

Pete Alonso: 2 for 3, one double one strikeout
Jeff McNeil: 1 for 3, one home run, one RBI
Francisco Lindor: 0 for 3

Pirates Hitters vs. Peterson

Andrew McCutchen: 1 for 14, one home run, one RBI, four walks, five strikeouts
Bryan Reynolds: 2 for 7, two strikeouts
Joey Bart: 1 for 5, two walks, two strikeouts
Ke’Bryan Hayes: 1 for 4, one walk, one strikeout
Oneil Cruz: 1 for 3, one home run, one RBI, two strikeouts
Liover Peguero: 2 for 2, one home run, one RBI

Tidbits

Joey Bart’s walk-off on Sunday was his second of the season. He hit a walk-off single against the Cardinals on Apr. 9.
Mlodzinski’s 5.2 innings pitched set a career-high. It was the first time this season he didn’t allow a run in a start.
The Pirates’ series win over the Braves was only their fourth of the season. The others were against the Cardinals (Apr. 7-9), Nationals (Apr. 14-17) and Angels (Apr. 22-24).