Pirates No. 1 pick Paul Skenes rebounds in 2nd start at Double-A

As the Pittsburgh Pirates looked to build upon a three-game win streak Friday in St. Louis, No. 1 overall pick Paul Skenes aimed for a reversal of fortunes in his second start with Double-A Altoona.

The 6-foot-6, 235-pound right-hander struck out three in two shutout innings against Erie, lowering his ERA from 54.00 to 13.50.

He allowed one hit and threw 18 of his 25 pitches for strikes.

Skenes’ debut with the Curve on Aug. 26 couldn’t have been much rockier, as he lasted just ⅔ of an inning against the Eastern League’s Akron RubberDucks, allowing four earned runs on three hits while walking two.

In that game, Skenes threw just 16 of his 33 pitches for strikes before being removed in the first inning.

On Friday, Skenes took the mound at UPMC Park and got off to a far better start, recording a three-pitch strikeout — fastball, fastball, slider — against the SeaWolves’ Joe Perez.

First pitch for Paul Skenes in his second start with Double-A Altoona is a 98 mph heater. Just recorded a 3-pitch strikeout to get started against Erie. pic.twitter.com/5I1cm0k5p9

— Justin Guerriero (@GuerrieroTrib) September 1, 2023

Moments later, Skenes struck out Trei Cruz and, while he allowed a two-out single to Jace Jung, Skenes escaped the inning unscathed. In the second, Skenes quickly got a pair of groundouts before striking out Corey Joyce to end the inning.

That was the end for Skenes, who was scheduled to pitch a pair of innings Friday.

Before joining the Curve, Skenes had made a pair of starts with Single-A Bradenton, pitching a combined three innings with no runs allowed, one hit and four strikeouts.

Before his Curve debut, Pirates director of player development John Baker said the plan for Skenes was to remain with the Curve through the rest of the Eastern League regular season, which runs through Sept. 17.