Pirates' Paul Skenes limits Reds' offense and gets his 1st win of 2026
Pirates fans shouldn’t worry either after Skenes returned to form on Wednesday. The reigning NL Cy Young winner allowed one run in five innings and struck out five in the Pirates’ 8-3 win over the Cincinnati Reds. Skenes walked Cincinnati’s TJ Friedl, then retired eight straight, including three strikeouts.
CINCINNATI (AP) — Paul Skenes quickly shrugged off the shortest start of his dominant major league career. Pirates fans shouldn’t worry either after Skenes returned to form on Wednesday. The reigning NL Cy Young winner allowed one run in five innings and struck out five in the Pirates’ 8-3 win over the Cincinnati Reds.
“I’m pretty insulated from a lot of stuff that’s out there. The stuff that I do see or hear, I don’t really care anyway because it doesn’t have anything to do with the play. I’m just thinking about getting back to execution and executing my pitches,” Skenes said.
“Nothing matters except for the game and the pitches. ” Skenes walked Cincinnati’s TJ Friedl, then retired eight straight, including three strikeouts. He walked Friedl twice in three innings before Elly De La Cruz singled for the Reds’ first hit.
Two batters later, Nathaniel Lowe doubled in De La Cruz, ending Skenes’ 31-inning scoreless streak against Cincinnati. Skenes’ scoreless run was the fourth-longest by a Pirates pitcher against an opponent since 1961. Vernon Law holds the mark, blanking the Mets for 40 innings during 1965-66.