PITTSBURGH -- Paul Skenes did something on Monday night that he hadn’t done since June 19. He pitched into the sixth inning.
Much of the discussion around Skenes over the past month -- that didn’t involve him starting his second straight All-Star Game -- has centered around his shorter starts. Skenes’ pitch counts in most starts would indicate that he would have at least another inning or two in the bank, but he was limited to try to keep the workload down.
On Monday, the plan was for him to throw about 85 pitches. It turns out 86 pitches was just enough to turn in his first quality start in over a month and his first pitching win since May 28. Skenes tossed six scoreless innings and struck out six as the Pirates picked up their first win of the second half of the season, beating the Tigers, 3-0, at PNC Park.
“It's a little bit of a ramp back up,” Skenes said. “I think that was about as good as it could have been. Eighty-six pitches and six innings is a pretty good starting point. I mean, we're still going to monitor innings, all that. Not all of that's up to me, but we'll have a good plan going forward.”
The Pirates prefer their pitchers to pitch through a whole year rather than shut them down. With the way Skenes started the season, the Bucs had to make a decision to either pump the brakes on him a bit or just let him obliterate his inning total from 2024.
The latter isn’t really an option, so workload management it is.
It’s still a rather sizable workload. Skenes’ six innings on Monday gives him 127 on the season, the fifth most in MLB. For comparison's sake, Skenes threw just 133 innings in the Majors last year, so he could match that total his next time out. If you include his time in the Minors, Skenes threw 160 1/3 innings in ‘24.
While there isn’t a number etched in stone, manager Don Kelly signaled that 200 innings is about what Skenes’ cap will be this year. That would be a roughly 40-inning increase, a threshold the Pirates try not to cross for any pitcher in the system without good reason. Doing some back of the envelope math, Skenes probably has a dozen or so starts left this season, and they won’t all be five-and-dives like we saw going into the midpoint of the season.
"[It’s a] conversation with a lot more people than just myself,” Kelly said before the game. “... He's at the top of the league in innings. Last year, he threw 160 [in the Minors and Majors combined] on the year, 133, I think it was in the big leagues. So just finding ways to manage that so that he can fulfill the full season through the end of September, but also keep it manageable [so] that we're not completely blowing it out."
Of course it’s not just a matter of innings. There’s plenty of things that go into monitoring workload, ranging from number of pitches to the stress of those pitches to how many day games and travel days Skenes pitches. The Pirates monitor plenty to try to keep their big right-hander in top shape.
Skenes has been called many things in his brief time as a professional, but on Monday, he was a stopper. Pittsburgh had a very ugly first series to start the second half of the season, being swept by the White Sox in blowout fashion. After Sunday’s loss, Kelly talked about needing to put the series behind them, and that they knew Skenes was going to be on the mound Monday.
Kelly’s faith in his pitcher was justified. Skenes pounded four-seams, saying the shape “might’ve been the best it’s been all year.” He fanned six, marking his seventh straight start in which he averaged at least one strikeout an inning. Spencer Horwitz and Bryan Reynolds logged RBI singles in the second inning, while Braxton Ashcraft, Dennis Santana and David Bednar shut things down to seal the win.
The Pirates needed a spark, and Skenes helped provide it.
“He's that ace, man,” Kelly said. “Going out there and stopping the bleeding. Just dominant. Did a great job. Everything was clicking. Threw strikes, getting ahead. Just a fantastic outing."