Skenes Bounces Back Big Against Cincinnati, Pirates Remind Everyone Why He's the Ace

Paul Skenes walked into Wednesday night in Cincinnati with something to prove. After getting yanked in the shortest outing of his major league life just days earlier, the reigning NL Cy Young winner came out and did exactly what you expect from a guy with that kind of resume. Five innings, one run, five strikeouts, and a dominant Pirates win 8-3 over the Reds. That's the real Skenes right there.

From Bad to Beautiful in One Start

Look, his last time out against the Mets was rough. Thirty-seven pitches in two-thirds of an inning, five runs allowed, and a loss. That's not the narrative you want following around a Cy Young winner. But Skenes wasn't going to dwell on it. "I'm pretty insulated from a lot of stuff that's out there," he said after Wednesday's performance. "Nothing matters except for the game and the pitches." That's the kind of mental toughness that gets you 45 strikeouts and only four walks in six career starts against one team.

He started strong, walking Cincinnati's TJ Friedl to lead off, then just mowing down the next eight batters. Three strikeouts in that stretch. You could see the old Skenes coming back. Sure, De La Cruz eventually singled to get Cincinnati on the board, but Lowe's double in the second was the only damage Skenes allowed. That ended a 31-inning scoreless streak against the Reds, which was still the fourth-longest run a Pirates pitcher has put together against any opponent since 1961. Vernon Law's 40-inning scoreless streak from 1965-66 is still the Pirates standard.

Pirates Give Their Ace the Support He Deserves

Skenes threw 77 pitches with 51 strikes before Don Kelly pulled him after five. That was intentional. Pirates skipper Kelly wanted to protect his ace's workload early in the season, especially after that short leash start. "When you're going off one outing and 37 pitches, we had targeted 80 for him," Kelly explained. "It was something that we need Paul for the long haul, and he did a great job."

Pittsburgh made sure Skenes didn't have to sweat it out there, either. Oneil Cruz crushed a three-run homer to right in the first inning, setting the tone early. No pitcher with Skenes on the mound wants to fall behind. As Reds manager Terry Francona put it: "With Skenes on the mound, you hate to give them anything early because you know you're going to have to fight to get anything you can get."

Skenes improved to 5-0 with a 0.53 ERA in six starts against Cincinnati, holding the Reds to a .197 batting average. After that ugly Mets start, this was exactly the bounce-back nobody should have doubted was coming.

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