Pirates’ Paul Skenes lowers season ERA by 57.97 originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Paul Skenes had things go much smoother in his second outing of the season.
He only recorded two outs last week on Opening Day for the Pittsburgh Pirates against the New York Mets, but he went five solid innings on Wednesday in a win over the Cincinnati Reds.
In the process, Skenes’ season ERA dropped from 67.50 to 9.53.
Against the Reds, Skenes allowed a single run on three hits and two walks while striking out five.
“Still a work in progress but nice to give some volume and be out there for more than two-thirds of an inning,” Skenes told reporters after the game, via MLB.com.
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That first outing of the year was far from just Skenes’ fault. Oneil Cruz misplayed two flyballs to centerfield that could’ve changed the complexion of the first inning that Skenes didn’t make it out of.
But in the first outing, Skenes’ control was a bit erratic, and the Pirates took him out after 37 pitches in the opening frame. They had to protect his arm for the long haul.
The expectation was that Skenes would come out with some extra intensity in his second start to make up for that brutal first outing, and he mostly looked like his usual self.
Skenes did walk the game’s opening batter, but then he dialed things in.
“Just remembering what’s real and what isn’t real, I guess,” Skenes said afterward of his approach. “Nothing matters except for the play. Nothing matters except for the game. I’m pretty insulated from a lot of stuff that’s out there. The stuff that I do see or hear, I don’t really care anyway, because it doesn’t have anything to do with the play. Throughout the week, basically just thinking about getting back to execution and executing my pitches. That’s it.”
The Pirates are just happy to have the normal Skenes back.
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