Paul Skenes shines with 9 strikeouts as Pirates shut out Diamondbacks to finish homestand

Paul Skenes had recorded his ninth strikeout on his 98th pitch, getting Eugenio Suarez swinging at a sweeper for the second out in the sixth inning, when Don Kelly walked onto the field for a mound visit.

That drew boos from the home crowd, fearing that the Pittsburgh Pirates manager was pulling the two-time All-Star and staff ace from the game one out shy of a quality start.

“I just wanted to make sure that he was in a good spot there to finish it off,” Kelly said, noting the hot day and high pitch count. “He was good to go.”

Kelly left Skenes in to face one more batter, and he got Adrian DelCastillo to fly out to center field on the next pitch to draw a standing ovation as he walked off the field.

For the second consecutive start, Skenes tossed six scoreless innings to lead the Pirates to a 6-0 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday afternoon before 20,779 at PNC Park to clinch the three-game series.

Skenes said Kelly walked out to the mound like he wanted to be talked out of the decision, and the 6-foot-6 right-hander was happy to oblige.

“I was just like, ‘Hey Donnie, what do you got?’ And he was like, ‘What do you got?’ And I’m like, ‘I got another hitter.’ And that was it,” Skenes said of their conversation. “I don’t think (the booing) has any effect on Donnie, his decision. He definitely hears it. But I get pulled, they’re probably going to cheer right after, so I understand them. I was a fan. I did the same thing. But, yeah, I felt good and I wasn’t coming out there.”

Skenes wasn’t the only Pirates to stand tall. Oneil Cruz went 2 for 3 with two RBIs and scored a run by racing from first to home on a single, and Tommy Pham also had two hits and an RBI. The Pirates went 2 for 6 with runners in scoring position, and the Diamondbacks went 0 for 9.

Credit Skenes for getting out of jams early. Skenes (6-8) had nine strikeouts for the fourth time this season, falling one short of his season-high 10 on July 6 at the Seattle Mariners. He allowed three hits and one walk to make a quality start for the 14th time in 22 outings. Skenes finished July with an 0.67 ERA, lowering his season ERA to an MLB-best 1.83.

Skenes struck out three of the first five batters he faced before Jake McCarthy hit a triple to the North Side Notch, just beyond the reach of a sliding attempt by Cruz. Skenes stranded McCarthy by striking out James McCann on a 2-2 changeup and getting Alek Thomas to hit a pop fly to shortstop Isiah Kiner-Falefa to end the frame.

The Pirates took an early lead in the second inning when Cruz drew a full-count leadoff walk against Zac Gallen (7-12), then showed off his speed by scoring easily from first base on Pham’s single to shallow left for a 1-0 lead.

“Unbelievable,” Kelly said. “Stealing on that pitch, busting it around second, making (Mike) Rabelo stop him at third base. Rabs kept him going. It was a great send by Rabs. There’s not many guys in the league that can score on that ball down the line 320 feet, Oneil getting in there. He had a heck of a game.”

Skenes stranded a runner at third base again in the third inning. Tristin English drilled a sharp grounder down the right-field line for a double to record the first major league hit of his career. Skenes got Corbin Carroll to chase a 99-mph four-seam fastball above the zone for his fifth strikeout, but English advanced on Ketel Marte’s groundout to second before Geraldo Perdomo popped out to second.

“Made pitches when he had to,” Kelly said. “Guys on third, able to get the strikeouts.”

The Pirates provided Skenes run support in the third, when Bryan Reynolds doubled to the left-field corner to drive in Nick Gonzales. Reynolds advanced to third on the throw to home plate, then scored on a single by Cruz for a 3-0 lead.

Skenes overcame another jam in the fourth, after he hit Eugenio Suarez with a pitch and McCarthy doubled to left to put a pair of runners in scoring position. Skenes responded by striking out McCann on a sweeper away and Thomas on a full-count changeup.

The Pirates added another run when Reynolds was hit by a pitch to start the sixth and scored on a double to right by Cruz to make it 4-0. They tacked on two more runs in the eighth against John Curtiss, when Gonzales singled and Pham doubled and both runners scored on an opposite-field single by Ke’Bryan Hayes for a 6-0 lead.

Caleb Ferguson pitched the seventh and Carmen Mlodzinski the final two innings to complete the Pirates’ 13th shutout of the season.

After getting swept by the Chicago White Sox and sweeping the Detroit Tigers, the Pirates (44-62) finished their nine-game homestand with a 5-4 record.

“Honestly, after the bounce-back that we saw with the Tigers series, and this series, stringing together at-bats, great pitching, bullpen was great, starters were great and the total effort collectively was there,” Kelly said. “It was exciting. It was fun. The crowd was into it. Great weekend of baseball.”