{"id":658205,"date":"2026-04-02T06:08:44","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T06:08:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/658205\/"},"modified":"2026-04-02T06:08:44","modified_gmt":"2026-04-02T06:08:44","slug":"pirates-ace-paul-skenes-excited-for-first-homestand-of-2026-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/mlb\/658205\/","title":{"rendered":"Pirates Ace Paul Skenes Excited For First Homestand Of 2026 Season"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pittsburgh Pirates<\/a> ace Paul Skenes has been spending a lot of time in Cincinnati lately.<\/p>\n

It’s where he made his final start of the 2025 season last September, firing six shutout innings against the Reds to end the year with a\u00a01.97 ERA and lock up the NL Cy Young Award.<\/p>\n

It’s also where he made his second start of the 2026 campaign on Wednesday. He continued his career dominance of the Reds<\/a>, twirling five innings of one-run ball at Great American Ball Park to help the Pirates win their series finale.<\/p>\n

After making three straight starts on the road dating back to last year, Skenes is looking forward to returning to Pittsburgh and making his first home start of the season at PNC Park next week.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve spent more time in Cincinnati over the past six months than I have in Pittsburgh. Cincinnati is great but it\u2019s not Pittsburgh. Looking forward to coming back (for Friday home opener).\u201d Paul Skenes pic.twitter.com\/NHaNIXkezM<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Mike Petraglia (@Trags) April 1, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

“I’m looking forward to going back to Pittsburgh. If you cherry-pick the time period, I\u2019ve spent more time in Cincinnati over the past six months or whatever than I have in Pittsburgh,” Skenes told reporters<\/a> after Wednesday’s 8-3 victory. “Cincinnati is great, but it\u2019s not Pittsburgh. Looking forward to coming back.”<\/p>\n

The Pirates return home with some momentum after winning their last two games, finishing their season-opening road trip 3-3. They’ll look to keep that going when they host the Baltimore Orioles in their home opener<\/a> on Friday.<\/p>\n

“The fans are gonna react however they will. I’m not expecting anything good or bad. We have a different group than we had last year and the year before that,” Skenes said. “I’m really excited to go back to Pittsburgh. However the fans greet us, great.”<\/p>\n

The Pirates drew just under 37,000 fans for last year’s home opener against the New York Yankees. Attendance quickly tailed off after their poor start, however, and Pittsburgh finished the season with the fifth-lowest attendance in MLB.<\/p>\n

The Pirates have a better, more exciting team this year, however. Pittsburgh is a great baseball town, so if they keep playing well and stay in the playoff hunt, fans will show up and support them.<\/p>\n

More MLB:\u00a0Paul Skenes Returns To Form After Disastrous Opening Day For Pirates<\/a><\/p>\n