Paul Skenes Couldn't Stop It: Cardinals Sweep Pirates With 10-5 Beatdown

The St. Louis Cardinals just completed a four-game series sweep of the Pittsburgh Pirates, and they did it by absolutely mauling reigning National League Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes right out of the gate. Final score: 10-5. This is what happens when you come out flat against a team that's locked in.

Skenes has been lights out this season, but Thursday wasn't his day. The Pirates' ace took the loss after allowing five runs (four earned) on eight hits over five innings. He struck out a season-high nine batters and didn't walk anyone, but that three-run first inning set the tone and he never recovered. Just two starts ago, Skenes nearly threw a perfect game against Milwaukee with just one hit allowed over seven innings. This wasn't that version.

The Cardinals Made It Look Easy From Pitch One

JJ Wetherholt led off the game with a 391-foot home run to right field for his seventh of the season, and just like that, St. Louis was up 1-0. One batter later, Ivan Herrera singled and scored on Jordan Walker's two-run homer to left to make it 3-0 before anyone could blink. Both Wetherholt and Walker finished with two hits apiece, and Walker drove in three runs total.

The damage kept piling up. Alec Burleson went 3-for-5 with three RBIs. Nathan Church smacked a two-run double off the top of the fence in right-center during a five-run eighth inning that broke the game wide open. The Cardinals finished with 14 hits and showed why they're not messing around this season.

Pirates Fought Back Late But It Wasn't Enough

Pittsburgh didn't go down without a fight. Bryan Reynolds doubled twice and knocked in two runs. Brandon Lowe launched a 416-foot homer in the seventh and also had an RBI double. They clawed back to 5-4 at one point, but the Cardinals' offense was relentless and answered every threat. This is Pittsburgh's fifth straight loss, and you can feel the momentum swinging hard the other direction.

Gordon Graceffo picked up the win with 1 1/3 innings of hitless relief to close it out. When you're putting up 10 runs, the bullpen can do its job clean.

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.