Pirates get a solid showing from Paul Skenes but are now winless in his last six starts

PITTSBURGH — For the four innings that followed after giving up two solo home runs in the second, Paul Skenes looked like, well, Paul Skenes.

He was in total command, pitching with the overwhelming, singular presence that defined his unanimous National League Cy Young campaign last season.

Unfortunately for the Pirates, their offense reverted to its 2025 form, as well.

Skenes (6-6, 2.85 ERA) tossed six innings, giving up four hits, two runs and striking out a season-high 10, but the Pirates fell to the Miami Marlins, 4-2, on Sunday afternoon at PNC Park. Marlins’ righty Max Meyer (7-0, 2.75) earned the win after throwing six innings of one-run ball, and Skenes took the loss.

The Pirates have now lost six consecutive games that Skenes started.

“I’ve dealt with it before,” said Skenes, who went 10-10 last year with an MLB-best 1.97 ERA. “It’s a team sport. It’s just the nature of the game.”

Relative to expectations, Skenes has looked somewhat mortal as of late.

And in the second inning against the Marlins, he gave up a leadoff home run to Heriberto Hernandez and then another solo shot to Joe Mack, the visitors’ No. 8 hitter in the lineup.

Manager Don Kelly said both pitches — a fastball and changeup both located on the edge of the strike zone — were “decently executed.”

According to ESPN Insights, that second inning marked just the third time in Skenes’ career he’s given up multiple home runs in the same frame, as well as the first time he’s given up a home run on a changeup.

Yet while they were the only stains on an otherwise strong start, the Pirates scored just one run behind their ace through six innings.

“When you’re looking at it, we just haven’t been able to put a complete game together,” Kelly said. “Last year, it was maybe the run support. … I don’t think we can point to one thing that’s consistent throughout all of his starts.”

Although Skenes started to cruise, Jake Mangum’s RBI single in the fourth inning was the Pirates’ only production through six innings.

Brandan Bidois gave up two runs in relief in the eighth, rendering a ninth-inning Bryan Reynolds home run moot as the Pirates limped to their third-straight series loss.

“I don’t know if it’s frustration,” Skenes said when asked about his last six starts. “Just gotta keep going. Just gotta keep going and win the next one.”

It was over when …

Xavier Edwards blooped an RBI single to center field in the eighth inning to put the Marlins ahead, 4-1.

On the mound

Skenes threw 104 pitches in total, marking his fourth-straight start with at least 103 in six or fewer innings.

He struck out the side in the fourth and sixth innings and generated 12 whiffs — as well as six strikeouts — with his fastball. He’s yet to eclipse six innings since May 12, but Skenes looked every bit of his typical, dominant self after a wobbly second inning.

“Really attacked with all of his pitches, was efficient and pitched extremely well,” Kelly said. “I thought he gave us a chance to win.”

As for the fastball velocity, which was down slightly to 96.9 mph on Sunday, Kelly shrugged off any concern about the dip.

“He’s been pretty consistent in that 96-98 range,” Kelly said. “I think we’ve seen that tail off even last year a little bit from his first year. So I don’t think that that is anything causing any concern.”

Evan Sisk held firm in the seventh, but Bidois gave up four consecutive singles and two runs in the eighth before being pulled for Isaac Mattson, who escaped a bases-loaded jam.

At the plate

Since June 5, the Pirates have averaged 3.7 runs in nine games.

The top four hitters in the lineup batted 2 for 17 with nine strikeouts Sunday, but Nos. 5-8 went 6 for 14. Mangum and Nick Gonzales had two hits apiece, and Mangum is now 8 for 18 (.444) in his last five games.

They had a chance to break the game open in the fifth inning after loading the bases with two outs, but Marlins’ center fielder Jakob Marsee made a diving catch to rob Mangum of a would-be extra base hit.

“That was multiple runs right there if [Marsee] doesn’t make the play,” Kelly said. “... I thought that was the play of the game there.”

Bucs bites

— Making his weekly radio appearance on 93.7 The Fan Sunday morning, general manager Ben Cherington said the Pirates are hoping Konnor Griffin will undergo a rehab assignment soon. Griffin — who remains on the 10-day injured list with a right forearm muscle strain — is continuing his throwing progression next week away from the team in Bradenton, Fla.

Griffin previously began throwing up to 90 feet, and he continues to field ground balls and take batting practice. Cherington didn’t offer a specific timeline for the rehab assignment, but said “the fact that he’s in his throwing progression means that hopefully that’s not coming too long.”

— Cherington also offered an update on Oneil Cruz, who was placed on the 10-day injured list Wednesday with a left hand injury (specifically fourth and fifth metacarpal non-displaced fractures). Cherington said he was given a “rough timeline” of 4-6 weeks for Cruz, who initially sustained the injury after a headfirst slide into home plate on June 6 against the Atlanta Braves.

“Knowing Oneil, he will play through anything,” Cherington said. “I’m confident in saying that. He has done that a lot. If and when he feels he can get back out there, he’s gonna do it.”

Up next

The Pirates head west for a six-game road trip, starting with three against the Athletics at Sutter Health Park in West Sacramento, Calif. Jared Jones (1-0, 4.73) will open the series for the Pirates on the mound at 9:40 p.m. ET Monday, and J.T. Ginn (4-3, 3.15) will start for the Athletics.

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