Paul Skenes nearly perfect, Konnor Griffin hits first homer as Pirates shut out Brewers

Colin Beazley, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Apr 24, 2026

Published in Baseball

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MILWAUKEE — It was a near-perfect day for the Pittsburgh Pirates, resulting in one heck of a win.

Paul Skenes took a perfect game into the seventh inning, Konnor Griffin hit his first career home run, and the Pirates beat the Milwaukee Brewers, 6-0, on Friday night at American Family Field. The Pirates allowed just two baserunners. Isaac Mattson and Mason Montgomery finished the one-hitter that Skenes started.

While it was Skenes’ night, Griffin certainly put on a show in his first game as a 20-year-old. Griffin celebrated his birthday with a homer off Brandon Woodruff in the third; added a single and a stolen base in the fifth; then clinched the game with a two-run single in the eighth. He finished 3 for 4 with a homer, a stolen base and three RBIs.

Inside the ballpark, it truly felt like Skenes had a shot at the 25th perfect game in major league history. He was dominant, retiring the first 20 batters he faced, and struck out seven. He avoided hard contact, not allowing a batted ball over 90.5 mph until the sixth inning.

But the bid ended with two outs in the seventh. Brewers first baseman Jake Bauers battled, working the count full and fouling off two pitches, then sent the eighth pitch of the at-bat up the middle to break up Skenes’ bid at history.

Skenes threw 93 pitches, 62 for strikes, and left with a 6-0 lead.

The Pirates scored in four consecutive innings, including Griffin’s solo homer in the third. Nick Gonzales had an RBI double in the fourth, scoring Brandon Lowe; an Oneil Cruz fielder’s choice (on a misguided throw home) scored Spencer Horwitz in the fifth; then Horwitz’s sixth-inning single scored Ryan O’Hearn from second in the sixth.

The win continued a Pirates streak. They have not lost a game on consecutive days through the first 26 games of the season. It also snapped one for the Brewers, who won the final eight games of 2025 against the Pirates.

It was over when …

Horwitz tacked on a fourth run in the sixth. That may even be conservative — with Skenes throwing the way he was, any lead felt safe.

On the mound

Montgomery and Mattson finished off the shutout, the Pirates’ third of the year. Mattson walked Brice Turang before William Contreras flew out to end it.

At the plate

The Pirates finished with six runs on nine hits. Besides Griffin, O’Hearn was the only other Pirate with multiple knocks.

Most valuable player

Skenes. Per the Elias Sports Bureau, Skenes tied for the third-longest perfect game bid (6 2/3 innings) by a Pirate since 1961, joining Nellie Briles, Bert Blyleven and Nick Kingham. Only Ken Brett (eight innings in 1974) and Jeff Karstens (7 2/3 innings in 2008) have gone deeper.

Up next

The Pirates and Brewers continue their three-game series on Saturday at 7:10 p.m. ET. Mitch Keller (2-1, 2.79 ERA) will face Brewers right-hander Jacob Misiorowski (1-2, 3.04) as the Pirates search for two consecutive wins for the first time in two weeks.

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