Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes has yet to achieve the victory he seeks against the St. Louis Cardinals.
Skenes suffered his fourth loss in five starts against the Cardinals after Tuesday night’s 2-1 defeat. This is the most starts for a Pirates pitcher at the beginning of his career against St. Louis without earning a win, since JT Brubaker, who went 0-6 in eight starts in 2021 and 2022.
Despite pitching well, allowing two runs and three hits in six innings, an error cost him the game. A two-run double by Alec Burleson in the sixth inning was decisive.
Simply do not run.
Paul Skenes
Burleson, going 6-for-15, has more career hits against Skenes than any other Major League player. The rally in the sixth inning began with two outs, with singles by Nolan Arenado and Willson Contreras before Burleson batted.
There is no secret. It takes a little luck, I think. With a guy like him, you have to have a plan and stick to it for three or four at-bats. It may not get you success that night, but it gives you the best chance to have it. That’s what I did and it worked, and I had fun.
Alec Burleson
Skenes, who allowed five runs in a loss to the Cardinals on April 8, has an ERA of 2.75 in his five starts against St. Louis.
I feel like we had tough at-bats. We didn’t have much to show for it, but the pitch count, we were able to run it up, some deep counts. The guys continued to fight. You have to stay short to the middle of the field and fight from the first pitch against someone like Skenes. I felt like our guys did.
Oliver Marmol, Cardinals Manager
Skenes walked four batters, matching a career high set in his last outing against the Cubs.
There were times when it seemed like he lost control, and then he came back and really executed pitches. He allowed, what, three hits… and did a very good job. He made a bad pitch with a fastball that leaked to Burleson, which ended up being the difference in the game.
Derek Shelton, Pirates Manager
Skenes was also a victim of the lack of offensive support. In his five starts against the Cardinals, he has received only three runs of support in 32 2/3 innings.
The Pirates have lost six games in a row and nine of their last 10.
We’re not being very consistent right now on offense. We’re not making things work and, you know, we’ve tried different lineups. We’ve tried lineup changes. We’ve tried lineup consistency. So, I think it’s something we have to continue to explore.
Derek Shelton, Pirates Manager
Pirates third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes noted that pitching is not the problem.
And I mean, we just got to back them up and score runs. So, however, whether it’s walking, getting that big hit, we just got to find a way.
Ke’Bryan Hayes
