So far in 2026, Paul Skenes isn’t what he had been in his first two Major League Baseball seasons. That ground has been covered repeatedly over the past few weeks.
The velocity isn’t as overpowering. The stuff in general hasn’t been as impressive. He racks up too many pitches through too few innings, and his vast array of pitches isn’t as dominant as we got used to seeing when he was winning National League Rookie of the Year in 2024 and the Cy Young in 2025.
But he has still posted a 2.85 ERA on the season. He still has a WHIP of 0.93, third best in the National League. His 99:16 strikeout-to-walk ratio is still noteworthy.
None of that adds up to a pitcher who is now 6-6 on the season, to say nothing of the fact that the team is 6-9 in games he has pitched this year — and 23-24 since the start of last year.
For specifically Sunday’s outing against the Miami Marlins, 10 strikeouts against only one walk, and five scoreless innings out of six, probably deserves a better outcome than a 4-2 defeat.
A loss that was Pittsburgh’s seventh in nine tries.
But that’s what happened to Skenes on Sunday. That’s what has happened with Skenes for most of his career in Pittsburgh.
The first four appearances to open this six-game winless funk for the Bucs’ ace were as much on him as anyone else. He was substandard in losses against Philadelphia, Toronto, the Chicago Cubs and Houston between May 17 and June 3.
But two runs over six innings in each of his last two outings — with a strikeout to walk ratio of 17:4 — feels like it should’ve at least been good enough to earn a split.
With the Pirates, though, as usual, they tend to create problems for themselves when Skenes pitches as opposed to rising up to his level.
“We just haven’t been able to put a complete game together. Last year, it was maybe the run support. We’ve had starts throughout these six where we have scored runs,” manager Don Kelly said of Skenes’ recent appearances. “We have had starts when the offense has been there, and other things have happened. I don’t think we can point to one thing that has been consistent in all the starts. Paul gave us a chance today. We left a lot of guys on base.”
In a 12-3 loss to the Dodgers at PNC Park on Tuesday, Skenes was solid, allowing just a pair of runs to the National League’s most potent offense. Unfortunately, the Pirates were a fielding and bullpen nightmare, rendering Skenes’ efforts moot after that debacle.
Quite honestly, the Pirates’ offense did something similar to Skenes against Miami on Sunday. They plated just two runs. The lineup was 1 for 8 with runners in scoring position and left 11 men on base. They struck out 12 times while scratching out just three walks.
Bryan Reynolds had a strong day at the plate from the No. 3 hole. He had two hits (including a homer) and two walks. But the other top four hitters in the lineup were dreadful. Spencer Horwitz, Brandon Lowe and Ryan O’Hearn were a combined 0 for 14 with nine strikeouts and just one walk against Miami starter Max Meyer (7-0, 2.75 ERA) and three relievers.
“We don’t like losing. We are doing all we can to win games,” outfield Jake Mangum said after a two-hit day. “There is a lot of ball left to be played. We’ve got a good clubhouse with good dudes who are pulling for each other and believe in each other. We’re going to keep pulling on the same side of the rope.”
Kelly’s bunch pushed only eight runs across home plate over the three games at home versus the Marlins. They managed only three hits with runners in scoring position over 24 at-bats — leaving 26 men on base.
“We’ve just got to keep going and win the next one,” Skenes said. “It’s baseball. I’ve dealt with it before. It’s a team sport. It’s just the nature of the game.”
Where Skenes can be better on his own is his efficiency. Or the team has to be willing to pitch him an inning beyond the one in which he reaches 100 pitches.
Skenes hasn’t gone beyond the sixth since an eight-inning effort May 12. Yet he’s averaged 101.5 pitches per outing. That’s too many bullpen innings on days when your ace pitches.
Sunday, after the defeat, Skenes focused on the positives, having allowed just two runs on solo homers.
“I probably didn’t get (the home run pitches) where they needed to be,” Skenes said.
“Other than two pitches, I thought it was a really good outing.”
It was certainly good enough. But it didn’t last long enough. The Pirates’ bullpen, per usual, allowed the Marlins to extend their lead. Brandan Bidois gave up two earned runs and four hits in ⅔ of an inning to open the eighth.
By the time Reynolds came up with two outs in the ninth, the Bucs were now chasing a 4-1 deficit instead of a 2-1 hole, as Skenes left it.
As a result, Reynolds’ solo homer in the ninth was nothing more than a cosmetic footnote instead of what could’ve been a dramatic game-tying blast.
Bryan Reynolds hit a HR in the bottom of the 9th with 2 outs, but it wasn't enough
hang in there pirates twitter pic.twitter.com/RfR8M5NVpp
— Platinum Key (@PlatinumKey13) June 14, 2026
If Skenes could’ve made it through seven, and Evan Sisk (with his 1.80 ERA) works a scoreless eighth instead of the seventh, maybe we’re singing a different tune Sunday night.
Unfortunately, as is often the case when Skenes starts, with a tip of the cap to Mötley Crüe, that tune is “Same Ol’ Situation.”