Paul Skenes solid, Andrew McCutchen records tiebreaking RBI single as Pirates sweep Phillies

Given how the season has gone for the Pittsburgh Pirates, it’s unsurprising that before this weekend at PNC Park, they had failed to record a sweep entering their 21st series of the year.

But back-to-back wins over the Philadelphia Phillies set up that scenario Sunday, and the Pirates had the right guy on the mound.

Ace Paul Skenes did his part and more, delivering 7²⁄₃ innings as the Pirates won 2-1 in front of 25,261 fans.

It was the Pirates’ first sweep since Sept. 9-11, 2024, against the Marlins.

Three straight wins represent a season high under new manager Don Kelly, and the Pirates (26-40) are 14-14 since his hiring May 9.

“I think we’ve been playing pretty good ball for a little bit now and either haven’t come out with (wins) or lost by a run or something like that in a few games,” Skenes said postgame.

“I’ve been happy with the baseball we’ve been playing. It’s nice to finally get some wins out of it, too. It’s easy to go on a losing streak, too, so we’ve just got to keep going.”

Andrew McCutchen delivered the winning RBI single in the eighth inning off Philadelphia reliever Orion Kerkering, scoring Oneil Cruz.

Cruz had walked, leading to Phillies starter Cristopher Sanchez’s removal, before stealing second base.

Skenes (1.88 ERA) allowed one unearned run on two hits, striking out seven with a walk.

He threw 97 pitches (62 for strikes), taking a no-decision after leaving the game with two outs and no men on in the eighth inning

Braxton Ashcraft, who relieved Skenes to record the final out of the eighth, remained in for the ninth to close the door.

In only his fourth MLB appearance, Ashcraft (1-0) got the job done, picking up his first career win despite allowing a one-out double to Trea Turner.

Rain was falling at PNC Park in the ninth inning, but with Turner on second and Kyle Schwarber (intentional walk) aboard, Ashcraft got Alec Bohm to hit into a game-ending double play.

Through 6 1/3 big-league innings, Ashcraft has yet to allow a run.

“For me, it meant a lot, the trust that (Kelly) has in me to go out and get those outs and get them efficiently, it means a lot,” Ashcraft. “It’s a lot for me to live up to, with the situation I’m in. … When you throw the ball well, you want to keep throwing it. It’s exciting.”

After an efficient first two innings for Skenes, which required only 15 pitches, the Pirates went up 1-0 in the bottom of the second.

After Ke’Bryan Hayes singled up the middle, Jared Triolo drove him in with a double into the left-center field gap.

Triolo went 2 for 3 and made a solid defensive play at first base in the ninth on a sharply hit Bryson Stott grounder.

In the third, Philadelphia, which played the series without Bryce Harper (placed on the 10-day injured list Saturday with a wrist ailment) tied the score.

Brandon Marsh, who singled, came home on a Rafael Marchan double.

Bryan Reynolds made a good play in the right-field corner tracking down the ball and getting it to cutoff man Nick Gonzales, but Gonzales committed a throwing error trying to nab Marchan at second base.

Marsh, who had been held at third, easily scored on the mishap, erasing the Pirates’ lead.

The run went unearned for Skenes.

Sanchez (5-2, 3.10 ERA) was the losing pitcher, having been responsible for Cruz in the eighth inning when departing the game.

Skenes began the eighth inning at 93 pitches, but after recording two outs, Kelly pulled him for Ashcraft.

Ashcraft walked Marsh but got Marchan to ground out, ending the frame.

“We felt like he was done,” Kelly said of replacing Skenes. “He emptied the tank there that inning and just felt like it was an opportunity to go to Ashcraft.”

After Sanchez walked Cruz to begin the eighth, he was replaced by Kerkering with McCutchen coming up to bat.

But Cruz got into scoring position by stealing his 23rd base of the season before McCutchen deposited a soft RBI single into shallow right field.

Cruz, despite stumbling as he neared third base, turned on the afterburners for home plate, with his headfirst dive beating a throw from Nick Castellanos.

Ashcraft, in the big leagues only since May 26, hasn’t had a front-row seat to the Pirates’ yearlong struggles but relished the chance to contribute in a positive way.

“You want to win ballgames, and winning three in a row means a lot to me and all the guys in this clubhouse,” Ashcraft said. “I think that this is the start of something that creates a different feel in the clubhouse amongst everybody.

“Winning gets contagious, so I think we’re all looking forward to the next games to come, the next weeks and months and see how the season unfolds.”