PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) \u2013 To say Pirates ace Paul Skenes desperately needed a win against the Cincinnati Reds Saturday would\u2019ve been an understatement.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Heading into the divisional matchup, the Pirates had somehow found a way to lose each of their past seven games with Skenes starting on the mound. But out of any opponent, the matchup with Cincinnati provided Skenes the best opportunity to finally end that dreadful streak. After all, he\u2019d turned in some of the best outings of his career against Reds batters in past games.<\/p>\n
Before Saturday\u2019s start, Skenes held a 5-0 career record against Cincinnati, along with a 0.53 ERA and 35 total strikeouts across six total appearances. The stage was set for him to dominate.<\/p>\n
Instead, those numbers took a serious hit in a 6-4 loss to the Reds as Pittsburgh failed to bring home a win with its ace on the mound for the eighth straight game. For perspective, the last time a Pirates starting arm went that long without a team win during a season was Johan Oviedo from June to July 2023.<\/p>\n
Skenes\u2019 night on the hill started off relatively calm. Though he allowed a leadoff single in the first inning, he responded by sending down the next three Reds in order. However, his next frame was much more agonizing.<\/p>\n
Beginning with a Nathaniel Lowe double, five straight Cincinnati players reached base before Skenes and the Pirates even managed to log the first out of the frame. When the dust finally settled, Skenes sat at a whopping 56 pitches and was staring down a three-run hole.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just gotta get back to execution,\u201d Skenes said regarding how he got out of the lengthy inning. \u201cAny pitch can get you out of an inning, any pitch can extend the inning, so you just gotta execute the next one.\u201d<\/p>\n