PITTSBURGH -- For the final time this season, “Take Me Home, Country Roads” was cued and subsequently blasted over PNC Park’s sound system. A highlight video of Paul Skenes blowing pitches by hitters played on the scoreboard, punctuated by him signing his name on the camera lens.
One last turn at PNC Park for the NL Cy Young favorite.
Tuesday night was not one of Skenes’ stronger outings. In fact, it was his shortest this season, as he was pulled after 3 2/3 innings. He surrendered a leadoff home run to Michael Busch, and the Cubs didn’t look back from there while beating the Pirates, 4-1.
But even in an off night, the Pirates’ ace still exited to an ovation for a stellar sophomore campaign.
“Pretty cool,” Skenes said. “They’ve been here all year, supported us through it. Not the way you want to finish, but always good to feel the support from the fans.”
Skenes’ first full Major League season will go down as one of the best ever for a Pirates starter. Even after a night when he allowed three runs on seven hits and three walks, he still boasts a 2.03 ERA, the lowest among pitchers who qualify for the ERA title, and a 0.96 WHIP.
He struck out six, giving him 209 on the season, the most in the National League. He is also one shy of the franchise record for most punchouts in a season by a right-hander, held by Mitch Keller with 210 in 2023.
“It would be great to see it at home,” manager Don Kelly said before the game, “but as good as he is, there's going to be a lot of records that Paul Skenes is going to be breaking as he goes."
Kelly shared before the game that Tuesday would be Skenes’ last home start of the season, saying the team is “stretching guys out” in the final portion of the season. With 10 games and a pair of off-days remaining, Skenes could theoretically make either one or two more starts, but if the team continues to use a six-man rotation down the stretch, it could just be one more trip to the mound for him this year.
Workload management has been a common theme for all of the Pirates’ young starters down the stretch. Skenes’ 181 2/3 innings are tied for sixth in the Majors and a significant jump from the 160 1/3 innings he threw last year between the Majors and Minors. He never has had a full season of throwing every turn in the rotation from Spring Training to September, and he admitted after his last start in Baltimore that he was “feeling it a little bit” when navigating his first full September.
On Tuesday, Skenes wasn’t his normally sharp self. It took him 33 pitches to get through the first inning, and by that point the Cubs had plated two runs and were threatening for more with the bases loaded. Not only was it the most pitches he had ever thrown in a first inning, it was the first time he had allowed multiple runs in the opening frame.
“Just out of the gate, just didn’t really have a good feel for my body and stuff,” Skenes said. “That’s what it came down to. Dialed it in later, but long first inning and they did a good job getting the pitch count up. So only so much I can do.”
Skenes was able to navigate the Cubs’ lineup a bit more effectively the second time through, but was pulled in the fourth after Nico Hoerner beat out a slow ground ball for a single. Kelly had met him on the mound before that at-bat, a signal that this would be his last batter.
When trying to muscle through the outing, Skenes’ thought to himself was: “Let’s see what we’re made off. Let’s see what we got.” In the end, it wasn’t the type of execution and stuff he normally has.
For those who came out to PNC Park to see him one more time this year, however, they know what he’s made of -- and made sure to give him some recognition for it.