Pirates' Paul Skenes Has Shot to Cement Elite Status
Paul Skenes will look to snap the Pittsburgh Pirates’ five-game losingstreak when they face the Los Angeles Dodgers.
The true testament to how good a player is goes well beyond how theyperform when things are going well.
Ultimately, in any sport, it comes down to how they perform in theface of adversity when it matters most. The Pittsburgh Pirates are inthe middle of a five-game losing streak and have fallen further downthe National League Wild Card standings with each loss.
Now, they’ll turn to Paul Skenes in hopes of getting back into the wincolumn against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday at 9:10 p.m. ET atDodger Stadium.
Skenes will be facing the Dodgers (67-49) for the second time thisseason. On June 5, the rookie sensation pitched five innings, allowedsix hits, including two home runs, three runs and struck out eightbatters en route to a 10-6 win to improve his record to 3-0 at thetime.
This marks the third time Skenes has faced a team for the second timein his young career, as he has already faced the Chicago Cubs and St.Louis Cardinals twice. After failing to make it out of the fifthinning in the first start of his career against Chicago on May 11,Skenes turned around six days later and pitched six innings of no-hitball, striking out 11 batters at Wrigley Field to earn the first winof his MLB career.
The 6-foot-6 righty had two stellar outings against the Cardinals,though, he has the only loss of his MLB career to show for it. On June11, Skenes pitched 6.1 innings, allowed five hits and struck out eightbatters en route to a no-decision in a Pirates 2-1 win on the road. Alittle over a month later, Skenes had the longest start of his career,pitching 8.1 innings, allowing four hits and two runs, including thego-ahead run in the ninth inning, and he struck out eight batters in a2-1 loss.
Many things go into what makes the ace of a pitching staff. Among themis the ability to give their team a chance to win even when theyaren’t at their best and being able to get their team back into thewin column when they’re in the middle of a losing streak.
One can argue that Skenes is already the ace of a strong Pirates(56-59) pitching staff without much resistance. The LSU product is 6-1and has struck out 107 batters across the first 14 starts of his MLBcareer. He also has eight outings where he has pitched at least sixinnings while allowing one earned run or fewer.
But there are still situations Skenes hasn’t found himself in. ThePirates have lost five in a row and are seeing their already slimplayoff hopes quickly slip out of their grasp.
Snapping a losing streak against a Dodgers team with stars like ShoheiOhtani and Freddie Freeman is no small feat. If Skenes can turn inanother strong outing that either leads to a Pirates win or puts histeam in a position to do so, that may be the final thing the rookiestar needs to undeniably cement himself as Pittsburgh’s ace and one ofthe top pitchers in baseball.
NATHANIEL MARRERO