Paul Skenes got his first MLB experience on Tuesday.
He lost.
It’s hard to pin the blame for Tuesday’s outcome on the Pittsburgh Pirates rookie sensation, but he got credit for his decision-making in the Pirates’ 2-1 win over the St. Louis Cardinals at PNC Park.
The loss was Skenes’ first in 12 MLB starts, and he has a 6-1 record with a 1.93 ERA and 0.87 WHIP in 12 starts, striking out 97 batters and walking 13 in 74 2/3 innings pitched.
Monday’s game didn’t do much damage to his overall season performance other than the loss.
Skenes began the day with a 1-2-3 inning, striking out Willson Contreras.
He didn’t allow a runner on first base until Nolan Gorman hit an infield single in the third inning, who couldn’t get past first base. Skenes retired all three batters in the fourth inning and committed an error against Nolan Arenado in the fifth.
Skenes unleashed an 83 mph curveball over the middle of home plate, and Arenado smashed it into the left field stands for a solo home run and a 1-0 lead for St. Louis.
Skenes retired 12 more Cardinals batters and returned to the mound in the ninth inning with the game tied 1-1.
There, he narrowly missed a possible foul-tip strikeout, allowing leadoff hitter Michael Siani to hit a double on a 1-2 count.
This would have been Paul Skenes’ ninth K…
However, the next pitch resulted in a double (which ended up being the game-winning run). pic.twitter.com/a83zaexh7s
—Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) July 24, 2024
Ciani advanced to third base on a grounder, and in his next at-bat, Alec Burleson singled to send Ciani home and give the Cardinals a 2–1 lead.
That was the end of Skenes’ day. Carmen Mrozinski replaced him and finished the inning without further damage, but the Pirates were unable to rally back in the bottom of the ninth, and St. Louis was awarded the win.
Skenes pitched 8 1/3 innings, allowing four hits, one home run, no walks, eight strikeouts and two earned runs.
St. Louis’ Lance Lynn fought back, pitching five innings before handing the mound over to Cardinals relief pitchers. The five St. Louis relief pitchers combined to allow just one run, and Skenes suffered the first loss of his MLB career on Tuesday.
