Paul Skenes has shortest start of season, Cubs pound 14 hits to beat Pirates

When Paul Skenes walked off the field to an ovation Tuesday night, it was more in appreciation for his season than his start.

Skenes had the shortest outing of the season in his final start at PNC Park as the Pittsburgh Pirates ace was pulled after throwing 92 pitches in only 3⅔ innings against the Chicago Cubs.

Michael Busch went 3 for 4 with a leadoff home run and two doubles to lead a 14-hit performance as the Cubs cruised to a 4-1 win before 14,714 at PNC Park to hand the Pirates their 10th loss in 11 games.

“Not the way you want to finish,” Skenes said, “but always good to feel the support from the fans.”

Skenes (10-10) allowed three runs on seven hits and three walks in 3⅔ innings, the second-shortest start of his career. Skenes only threw two innings at the New York Yankees in his final outing of his rookie season, which was by design.

This one had more to do with workload management.

“The execution wasn’t great, and that doesn’t fall on anybody’s shoulders but my own,” Skenes said of a 33-pitch first inning in which he surrendered two runs on two hits and two walks. “Dialed it in a little bit after that. Obviously, it was a grind.”

Skenes recorded six strikeouts to raise his season total to 209, one shy of tying Mitch Keller’s single-season franchise record by a right-hander. Skenes will likely break the mark in his final start of the season, which is expected to come next week at the Cincinnati Reds.

“I would love to see that,” Pirates manager Don Kelly said before the game. “I think that as Paul goes in his career, if it’s today that’d be great and if not, maybe in his next start he would get to it. It would be great to see it at home, but as good as he is, there’s going to be a lot of records that Paul Skenes is going to be breaking as he goes.”

Skenes remains the front-runner to win the National League Cy Young Award a year after winning NL rookie of the year. The 23-year-old right-hander has a 2.03 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and .198 batting average-against in 181⅔ innings over 31 starts.

When Skenes left a 2-1 curveball over the middle of the plate, Busch sent it 385 feet to right field for his 29th home run — and fourth career leadoff homer — to give the Cubs a 1-0 lead. It was the second consecutive game Busch homered to start the scoring, marking the sixth time this season and ninth time in his career he has homered in back-to-back games.

After Ian Happ drew a full-count walk and Moises Ballesteros singled to left, Pete Crow-Armstrong hit a two-out single to left to drive in Happ for a 2-0 Cubs lead. Dansby Swanson drew another full-count walk to load the bases, prompting a mound visit from Pirates pitching coach Oscar Marin to which Skenes responded by striking out Willi Castro on a 98.2 mph four-seam fastball to end the frame.

“Out of the gate, just didn’t really have a good feel for my body and stuff,” said Skenes, who threw only 17 strikes in the first. “That’s what it came down to. Dialed it in later, but long first inning and they did a good job getting the pitch count up, so only so much I can do.”

Skenes knew the high pitch count in the first would take innings off the back end of his start.

“That’s not what you want to happen because it’s hard to go six or seven when you’re going through a 33-pitch first inning,” Skenes said. “Just got to be better there.”

The Pirates answered against Cade Horton (11-4) in the bottom of the first. Spencer Horwitz singled to left, then scored when Oneil Cruz crushed a triple off the Clemente Wall to cut it to 2-1.

In the second, Busch banged an 0-2 sweeper off the center-field wall for a one-out double, advanced to third on Nico Hoerner’s single to right and scored on a sacrifice fly by Happ for a 3-0 lead.

Skenes found his groove in the third. Carson Kelly hit a leadoff single but Skenes struck out Crow-Armstrong then got Swanson to ground into a 5-4-3 double play. Skenes started the fourth by striking out Castro on a fastball and Matt Shaw on a changeup before walking Busch on five pitches, prompting a mound visit by Don Kelly.

Skenes had pitched at least four innings in every game this season, so Kelly gave him the chance to complete the frame. Skenes quickly got ahead in the count against Hoerner, who fouled off four consecutive pitches before drawing a ball and then hitting a dribbler up the middle. He beat the throw to first from shortstop Nick Gonzales. That was it for Skenes, whom Kelly said was on a “firm limit” of pitches.

“Talking about uncharacteristic start with Paul: Three runs,” Kelly said. “It’s amazing how he’s able to even limit it there. I know he wants more. He expects more of himself, but to be able to battle through those tough moments.”

“The thing that is amazing about him — and he was even able to do it today — is to adjust some things in the start, to be able to get back online and get the fastball command better in the middle of a start, which is hard for a lot of pitchers to do, especially a guy his size. He was able to get back in line, get fastball command better, but it just wasn’t typically I think what we’ve seen from him.”

Lefty Evan Sisk got the final out of the fourth but gave up a run in the fifth when he walked Ballesteros, who advanced to third on a double by Carson Kelly and scored on a sacrifice fly to right by Crow-Armstrong to give the Cubs a 4-1 lead.

The Cubs loaded the bases against righty Justin Lawrence in the sixth, when Shaw hit a leadoff single, Busch doubled off the center-field wall and Happ was intentionally walked. But Lawrence struck out Ballesteros and got Kelly to pop out to first in foul territory.

Where the Cubs had at least one hit in all nine innings, Horton and relievers Drew Pomeranz and Andrew Kittredge combined to retire 14 consecutive Pirates batters before Alexander Canario singled off Caleb Thielbar to start the eighth.

The Pirates have scored one run on seven hits through the first two games against the Cubs and have scored only 24 runs in their past 11 games — which includes eight games with two or fewer runs.

“It’s hard during the game to go through those and right now offensively, on the whole, just struggling at the plate,” Kelly said. “We need to find a way to continue to grind those bats out and find a way to do what we did when things were going well: go the other way, find a way to put the ball in play with two strikes. All it takes sometimes is one base hit with runners in scoring position, find a way to get things going.”

The Cubs (87-64) can clinch a postseason berth with a win Wednesday, which would sweep the three-game series, so the Pirates (65-87) have motivation to avoid both in the finale.

“Absolutely,” Kelly said. “We need to find a way tomorrow to come out, compete and get the W. Anytime you’re at home, anytime any series, you don’t want to get swept. And it’s a great feeling when you’re on the other side of it, and it’s a terrible feeling on this side. We just need to find a way to do it tomorrow.”