DENVER -- Paul Skenes has always looked back on his time at the U.S. Air Force Academy with reverence. Baseball wasn’t his primary focus when he embarked on his college journey in 2021; he wanted to serve. And even though that focus ultimately shifted toward becoming the elite starting pitcher he is today, Skenes hasn’t forgotten those two years at the Academy and how they shaped him.
That made Saturday feel like a homecoming of sorts for the All-Star right-hander, with Skenes taking the mound at Coors Field, roughly 60 miles north of his old campus in Colorado Springs, Colo. The former Air Force cadet struck out eight batters over five-plus innings in the Pirates’ 8-5 loss to the Rockies.
Skenes mostly cruised through five scoreless frames, striking out the side in the second and stranding two men in scoring position with one out in the fourth, but Colorado broke through in the sixth, with the first two men reaching ahead of a Jordan Beck home run -- the first three-run shot Skenes has allowed in his career.
After Warming Bernabel’s double knocked Skenes out of the game, the Rockies continued their barrage against Braxton Ashcraft in what ended up being a six-run inning for Colorado.
“He started off real strong, stuff looked really good,” Pirates manager Don Kelly said of Skenes. “I think in the sixth inning, command just got away from him a little bit there the first two batters, and then 0-0 fastball over the plate that Beck got a hole of."
The four runs charged to Skenes’ line raised his MLB-best ERA to 2.02. It’s the most runs Skenes has allowed since giving up four against the Brewers on June 25; he surrendered just two runs all of July, posting a 0.67 ERA over five starts.
Still, Skenes savored the opportunity to pitch in front of several of his friends and coaches from his days at the Academy after making the trip down to his old campus during the Pirates’ off-day on Thursday. Saturday also just so happened to be Air Force Academy Day at Coors Field, with the Rockies hosting staff, students and alumni on the field ahead of the game.
“It was cool to be back,” Skenes said. “I consider this kind of a second home.”
Skenes’ stint at Air Force was also critical in his development as a ballplayer.
It’s where he won the John Olerud Award in 2022 (given to the best two-way player in college baseball) after staring behind the dish and on the mound for the Falcons for two seasons prior to his decision to transfer to LSU ahead of his junior year, where his meteoric ascent to superstardom truly hit an upswing.
Liover Peguero gave Skenes immediate run support in the form of a leadoff home run on the third pitch of the game off Rockies starter Austin Gomber.
Peguero added two more homers that accounted for the Pirates’ only runs, becoming the first Bucs player to go deep three times in a game since Michael Pérez (June 30, 2022 vs. MIL).
“I’m just always trying to keep it simple,” said Peguero, who has four homers this season, all in his past three games. “Look for a good pitch to do damage. I’m just very proud of what’s been working. So hopefully I keep doing it and I can help the team win.”
Skenes did his part until that troublesome sixth, having allowed just two hits and a walk through five. He punched out four in a row at one point, capping off that sequence by blowing a 99.3 mph four-seam fastball past Yanquiel Fernández to end the second.
He totaled 18 whiffs, including nine on his four-seamer, hitting the 90-pitch mark for the second straight start after having his workload managed for much of the past month.
“At the end of the day, I think it was one pitch that they executed on that I didn’t,” Skenes said. “I’m not going to lose any sleep over it. It’s baseball.”
In the heat of a potential Cy Young race, Skenes is obviously focused on closing out his stellar sophomore season on a strong note. If nothing else, he and the Pirates want to make sure he navigates the final two months carefully given the increased workload he’s taking on in his second year.
But that didn’t stop Skenes from reflecting back on a formative period in his life in Colorado, even if it was just for a moment.
“I’ve had a lot of time to reflect on it,” Skenes said. “It’s tough to put into words. [The Academy], it’s been huge for me. So it’s nice to come back here and see some folks and go back to the Academy. It’s been a good couple of days.”