04/30/26 05:13:00
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04/30 17:11 CDT Pirates ace Paul Skenes has beaten just about everybody ...
except the St. Louis Cardinals
Pirates ace Paul Skenes has beaten just about everybody ... except the St.
Louis Cardinals
By WILL GRAVES
AP Sports Writer
PITTSBURGH (AP) --- The almost maniacal preparation Paul Skenes pours into
every start is already the stuff of legend, just two years into his career.
Still, even the Pittsburgh Pirates ace knows no matter how his pregame routine
goes, he's never really sure what kind of stuff he's going to have on a given
day until he steps onto the mound and the leadoff hitter steps into the box.
Many times, such as last week in Milwaukee, it's nearly perfect.
Then there are afternoons like Thursday against St. Louis, when the command
that seems to come so easily looks far more ordinary than extraordinary.
Skenes' third pitch of the game landed in the right-field seats at PNC Park
courtesy of Cardinals rookie JJ Wetherholt. Three batters later, Jordan Walker
turned on a sweeper that didn't sweep and sent it into the first row of
bleachers in left to give the Cardinals the early momentum on their way to a
10-5 victory and a four-game sweep.
The loss dropped Skenes (4-2) to 0-5 against the Cardinals, though that number
is a little misleading. His career ERA versus St. Louis sits at 2.95, even
after allowing five runs, four earned, in his first rocky performance since a
bumpy opening day in New York against the Mets.
That number is telling of the almost impossibly high standard Skenes has set
for himself during his rapid rise from first overall draft pick to arguably the
best pitcher in the game.
"Nobody expects more out of Paul Skenes than Paul does out of himself," Pirates
manager Don Kelly said. "I think when he has a game like today or the opener,
we have to find a way to pick him, because he picks us up all the time."
Yet given a chance to put a halt to Pittsburgh's first rough patch this season,
Skenes didn't quite have it. He fell behind Wetherholt 2-0 before the St. Louis
second baseman turned on a 95 mph fastball --- a tick below the usual 98-99
range Skenes sits at --- and laced it into the seats above the Roberto Clemente
Wall in right.
Ivan Herrera followed with an infield single. Two batters later, Walker pounced
on an 83 mph sweeper that caught the inside part of the plate. The ball sailed
just over the glove of Pittsburgh left fielder Jake Mangum, sending the
Cardinals on their way to their first four-game sweep at PNC Park since 2019.
Asked why St. Louis might have his number --- relatively speaking --- the
23-year-old Skenes responded with his typical mix of sarcasm and blunt truth.
"They score more runs than us," he said.
Skenes settled in --- his nine strikeouts were a season high --- but when the
Cardinals were able to make contact, they made things happen. They added a run
in the third after an infield single by Alec Burleson and a throwing error by
rookie shortstop Konnor Griffin led to an RBI single by Nolan Gorman. In the
fifth, Burleson flipped his bat at a changeup well off the plate and dumped it
into left field to drive in Wetherholt.
"I think that sometimes teams go up there, try to work his pitch count, try to
get that up," Kelly said. "It doesn't seem to be the case. They're going up
there swinging and trying to get their swing off. ... They put some good swings
on the ball today."
The Pirates fell to 16-16, hardly the horrific start of a year ago that cost
former manager Derek Shelton his job, but it also has them off the pace a bit
in the hyper-competitive NL Central with first-place Cincinnati coming in for
the weekend.
"I mean, every team is going to have skids," Skenes said. "Just got to get back
to who we are and just play our game. Not try to do too much. Just think we're
trying to do too much a little bit, especially today. Just got to be us."
Pittsburgh second baseman Brandon Lowe said the quiet part out loud about how
spoiled the Pirates have become when Skenes' familiar No. 30 is standing on the
mound.
"It's pretty difficult when you sit there and you're saying, ?Oh, he struggled'
and he gave up three (runs)," Lowe said.
Lowe, one of a handful of veterans acquired in the offseason to surround the
Pirates' young core that includes Skenes and the 20-year-old Griffin, is not
concerned about the last week snowballing into something that would put a
damper on the positive vibes created during a season that began with plenty of
promise.
"When you're in the training room, you're in the tubs and stuff like that,
showers, you just kind of have conversations and talking with these guys for a
long time," said Lowe, who hit his eighth home run of the season in the
seventh. "They have a pretty good head on their shoulders and the way they look
at things. ... So it's just one of those things, you kind of flush the bad ones
and focus on the next one."
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
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