Skenes (6-3) took the loss Sunday against the Phillies, allowing five runs on six hits and one walk in five innings. He struck out seven.
After twirling eight innings of scoreless ball in back-to-back starts, Skenes stumbled in a tough spot against the red-hot Phillies on Sunday. Three of his hits allowed went for extra bases, and the All-Star right-hander gave up more than three runs for the first time since his disastrous Opening Day start against the Mets. Despite Sunday's hiccup, Skenes still holds a stellar 2.62 ERA, 0.94 WHIP and 63:8 K:BB over 55 innings ahead of his next scheduled outing in Toronto.
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Pirates' Paul Skenes: Strikes out 10 in win over Rockies
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Skenes (6-2) earned the win Tuesday against the Rockies, allowing just two hits and no walks with 10 strikeouts across eight shutout innings.
Skenes struck out the first six batters he faced and retired the first 14 Rockies before hitting Troy Johnston with a pitch in the fifth. Skenes lost his no-hitter with one out in the seventh, and he's taken a no-hitter deep into games multiple times in recent starts. The right-hander generated 19 whiffs on 98 pitches against Colorado but wasn't allowed to go out for the ninth inning in a 3-0 game. He's thrown 100 pitches in a game just once in nine starts but has now posted back-to-back eight-inning, two-hit shutouts in wins over the Diamondbacks and Rockies. Since allowing five runs over 0.2 innings on Opening Day against the Mets, Skenes has yielded just six runs over 49.1 frames. On the season, the Pirates' ace has a microscopic 1.98 ERA and 56:7 K:BB across 50 innings. He's lined up to face the Phillies at home Sunday.
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Pirates' Paul Skenes: In peak form for win
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Skenes (5-2) allowed two hits and struck out seven without walking a batter over eight shutout innings to earn the win Wednesday against the Diamondbacks.
Skenes got all the run support he needed with Brandon Lowe's solo shot in the first inning. From there, it was all Skenes as he delivered his longest outing of the season. This was the sixth time in eight starts he's allowed one or zero runs, and it's the third instance he's limited an opponent to two or fewer baserunners. The 23-year-old has an excellent 2.36 ERA, 0.71 WHIP and 46:7 K:BB across 42 innings this season. Skenes' next start is projected to be at home versus the Rockies, which could be the first outing of a two-start week.
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Pirates' Paul Skenes: Ambushed in second loss
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Skenes (4-2) took the loss Thursday against the Cardinals, allowing five runs (four earned) on eight hits and no walks in five innings. He struck out nine.
The Cardinals jumped all over the All-Star right-hander right away, bringing three runs across in the opening frame. One run against Skenes on Thursday went unearned due to a Pittsburgh throwing error, and the hurler was at least able to pitch deep enough into the outing to fan a season-high nine and reach the 100-pitch plateau for the first time this year. Skenes will carry a strong 3.18 ERA, 0.85 WHIP and 39:7 K:BB over 34 innings into his next start, which is projected to come in Arizona.
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Pirates' Paul Skenes: Flirts with perfect game
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Skenes (4-1) earned the win Friday against the Brewers, striking out seven and allowing one hit and no walks over seven scoreless innings.
Skenes carried a perfect game into the seventh inning, but Jake Bauers' two-out single ended that bid and prompted manager Don Kelly to go to the bullpen after the completion of the frame. Despite completely shutting down Milwaukee's offense, it still wasn't the right-hander's most dominant performance, as he generated just 10 whiffs on 93 total pitches. After surrendering five runs over two-thirds of an inning Opening Day, Skenes has responded with a 0.95 ERA, 0.53 WHIP and 29:5 K:BB across 28.1 frames in his past five starts.
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Pirates' Paul Skenes: Start shortened by rain Saturday
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Skenes didn't factor into the decision Saturday against the Rays, allowing three hits and no walks with five strikeouts across four shutout innings.
Skenes had a 4-0 lead through four innings and threw just 64 pitches before rain delayed the game two hours and 27 minutes, and Pittsburgh's ace obviously didn't come back out to pitch following the lengthy delay. Skenes has yet to throw 90 pitches in any of his five starts to open the 2026 season but owns a 3-1 record with a 3.27 ERA and 23:7 K:BB across 22 innings. Skenes should be well rested ahead of his next start against the Brewers in Milwaukee.
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Pirates' Paul Skenes: Dominates against Washington
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Skenes (3-1) earned the win Monday against the Nationals, allowing one run on one hit and one walk while striking out six over six innings.
After beginning the outing with back-to-back punchouts, the 23-year-old surrendered a solo homer to CJ Abrams in the first inning, but was nearly untouchable from that point forward. Skenes retired 16 of the next 17 batters and leaned heavily on his changeup, throwing a career-high 32 of them among his 88 pitches Monday. After a disastrous Opening Day outing in which he failed to escape the first, Skenes has responded emphatically, stringing together three consecutive starts with just one run allowed in each while winning all three. The right-hander looks to have rebounded back to the Cy Young-caliber form fantasy managers have come to expect, lowering his ERA to 4.00 while posting a 0.94 WHIP and 18:7 K:BB across 18 innings.
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Pirates' Paul Skenes: Fans six to earn second win
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Skenes (2-1) picked up the win Tuesday against the Padres, allowing one run on two hits and two walks with six strikeouts across 6.1 innings.
After his nightmare start on Opening Day, Skenes has picked up the win in back-to-back starts against the Reds and Padres, lowering his ERA to 5.25 to go with a 12:6 K:BB across 12 total innings. Skenes' only blemish Tuesday was a solo home run allowed to Xander Bogaerts with one out in the seventh inning. That marked the end of the night for Skenes, who is lined up for Monday at home against the Nationals.
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Pirates' Paul Skenes: Bounces back with first win
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Skenes (1-1) picked up the win in Wednesday's 8-3 victory over the Reds, allowing one run on three hits and two walks over five innings. He struck out five.
After a stunningly short Opening Day start, Skenes rebounded nicely Wednesday, tossing 51 of 77 pitches for strikes and only allowing a runner to get past first base in the fourth inning. It was an early hook for the right-hander despite the efficient performance, but the Pirates are likely just being cautious with his early season workload. The 23-year-old still has a 9.53 ERA and 6:4 K:BB through 5.2 innings, but those numbers should continue to improve quickly. Skenes is set to take the mound next at home early next week against the Padres.
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Pirates' Paul Skenes: Tapped for Opening Day
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Skenes will start Opening Day against the Mets on March 26.
It wasn't hard to see this decision coming, as Skenes took home the National League Cy Young Award last season after posting a 1.97 ERA and 0.95 WHIP alongside a 216:42 K:BB over 187.2 innings. The 23-year-old ace struggled to collect wins last season -- a problem that could continue into 2026 -- but he should still be viewed as one of the top fantasy pitchers in virtually all formats.
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Pirates' Paul Skenes: Unanimously wins NL Cy Young Award
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Skenes won the 2025 National League Cy Young Award on Wednesday, Jeff Passan of ESPN.com reports.
Skenes received all 30 first-place votes after finishing the year with a 1.97 ERA and a 0.95 WHIP alongside a 216:42 K:BB across 187.2 innings. He joins Vern Law and Doug Drabek on the list of Pirates to take home the award after the latter two did so in 1960 and 1990, respectively.
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Pirates' Paul Skenes: Blanks Cincy to end year
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Skenes came away with a no-decision in Wednesday's 4-3 extra-innings win over the Reds, allowing four hits over six scoreless innings. He struck out seven without walking a batter.
The young ace made his closing statement on a strong NL Cy Young Award case, racking up 18 swinging strikes among his 85 pitches (57 total strikes), and Skenes left the mound in line for his 11th win of the season before Dennis Santana blew the save in the ninth. Skenes leads the Senior Circuit in ERA (1.97) and WHIP (0.95) and is tied for the lead with Logan Webb and Jesus Luzardo in strikeouts at 216, although Webb lines up for one more outing this weekend.
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Pirates' Paul Skenes: Stumbles against Cubbies
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Skenes (10-10) took the loss Tuesday, giving up three runs on seven hits and three walks over 3.2 innings as the Pirates were downed 4-1 by the Cubs. He struck out six.
The young right-hander hurt his Cy Young case with his shortest outing of the season, one that got off to an ominous start when Michael Busch led off the game with a solo homer. Despite the stumble, Skenes still leads the NL in strikeouts (209) and ERA (2.03) and sits third in innings with 181.2, and his 0.96 WHIP is second only to the Padres' Nick Pivetta (0.95). Skenes lines up to make one more start before the end of the season, on the road in Cincinnati next week.
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Pirates' Paul Skenes: Crosses 200-strikeout plateau
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Skenes came away with a no-decision in Wednesday's 2-1 extra-inning loss to the Orioles, allowing only two hits over five scoreless innings. He struck out eight without walking a batter.
The young ace was lifted after just 64 pitches (43 strikes), but that still gave Skenes plenty of time to rack up his 200th strikeout of the season -- becoming the eighth pitcher in Pirates history to accomplish the feat. Through 178 innings in his first full season in the majors, he's posted an MLB-leading 1.92 ERA, while his 0.92 WHIP is second to Detroit's Tarik Skubal and his 203 Ks are third behind Boston's Garrett Crochet (228) and Skubal (222). Skenes will look to keep burnishing his NL Cy Young Award resume in his next start, which lines up to come at home early next week against the Cubs.
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Pirates' Paul Skenes: Shuts down Dodgers in 10th win
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Skenes (10-9) earned the win Thursday against the Dodgers, allowing two hits and one walk in six shutout innings. He struck out eight.
Skenes was at his best against a scary Dodgers lineup, tying a season low in hits allowed during his fifth scoreless start since the All-Star break. The All-Star right-hander continues to be one of the top pitchers in baseball, having now conceded two runs or fewer in 24 of his 29 appearances in 2025. Skenes is well on his way to notching his first career National League Cy Young Award, posting a 1.98 ERA, 0.94 WHIP and 195:39 K:BB across 173 innings. On tap for Skenes next week is a matchup with the last-place Orioles at Camden Yards.
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Pirates' Paul Skenes: Collects win vs. BoSox
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Skenes (9-9) earned the win against the Red Sox on Friday, allowing two runs (one earned) on seven hits and one walk while striking out six across six innings.
The seven hits allowed tied a season high, but Skenes was able to limit the damage to two runs, with the one earned coming on a Roman Anthony solo shot in fifth inning. Skenes was in danger of taking his 10th loss of the season, but the Pirates scored three runs in the sixth to put the ace in line for the win. Skenes has yielded two earned runs or less in nine of his last 11 starts since July 1, and over that span he's posted a 1.92 ERA and 1.03 WHIP over 61 innings. He leads all qualified starters this season with a 2.05 ERA, and his 187 strikeouts and 0.95 WHIP rank fourth and fifth, respectively. Skenes is lined up to face the Dodgers at home next week, when he'll look for his 10th win of the year.
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Pirates' Paul Skenes: Chased early Tuesday
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Skenes (7-9) took the loss Tuesday against the Brewers, allowing four runs on six hits and two walks while striking out four in four innings.
Skenes began by allowing a leadoff home run to Sal Frelick and was taken yard a second time in the fourth by Brice Turang. Skenes required 93 pitches to complete four frames, marking only the second time this season he's failed to complete five innings, with both instances coming against Milwaukee. Despite giving up four runs in two of his last three starts, Skenes still sits pretty atop baseball with a 2.13 ERA and will look to bounce back next week at home against the Blue Jays.
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Pirates' Paul Skenes: Punches out eight in no-decision
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Skenes did not factor into the decision in Saturday's game against Colorado, allowing four runs on five hits and two walks while striking out eight across five innings.
It looked like it was going to be another dominant outing for Skenes, who kept the Rockies off the board through the first five frames. He was brought back out for the sixth, but his shutout bid came to an end when he yielded a three-run homer to Jordan Beck and was tagged for another run after being pulled for Braxton Ashcraft. Skenes ended the contest with 18 whiffs on 94 pitches (58 strikes), and he has recorded at least six strikeouts in five consecutive starts. Even with the late collapse, he still leads the majors with a 2.02 ERA, and he also sports top-10 marks among qualified starters with a 0.92 WHIP (third) and 154 strikeouts (seventh) across 138 innings. Skenes is slated to make his next start against the Reds at home next week.
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Pirates' Paul Skenes: Fires six scoreless in win
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Skenes (5-8) earned the win against the Tigers on Monday, allowing three hits and one walk while striking out six over six scoreless innings.
Despite reports that his innings could be managed down the stretch, Skenes needed just 86 pitches to log his first quality start since June 19 and first win since May 28. The All-Star starter has been dominant in July, allowing just two earned runs with a stellar 27:2 K:BB over four outings. He'll carry a 1.91 ERA, 0.91 WHIP and 137:31 K:BB across 127 innings into a home matchup with the Diamondbacks this weekend.
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Pirates' Paul Skenes: Could have more shortened outings
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The Pirates are not expected to skip any of Skenes' starts in the second half but will likely have him throw a few more "low-volume outings" as a means to manage his workload, Noah Hiles of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.
The club is also expected to give Skenes extra rest in between starts a few times in the second half, when possible. Skenes threw 160.1 innings in 2024, and Hiles believes the Pirates' goal is to get the righty into the 190s in 2025, with 200 innings being the cap. It's relatively mild as far as workload limitations go, but it does dampen Skenes' outlook slightly. The right-hander began to see his workload curtailed a bit late in the first half, as he threw fewer than 80 pitches in three of his last four starts and fewer than 90 pitches in the other outing. Prior to that, Skenes had averaged 98.7 pitches per start in his first 16 outings of the season.
