Pirates waste Paul Skenes' latest gem in extra-inning loss to Orioles

Another dominant start from Paul Skenes was wasted Wednesday night at Camden Yards in Baltimore as the Pirates lost to the Orioles in extra innings for the second straight night, 2-1.

With the bases loaded in the 10th inning, Orioles right fielder Dylan Beavers squared up a 3-2 fastball on the inner half from Pirates reliever Kyle Nicolas to drive home pinch-runner Jorge Mateo with a single down the right-field line, securing Baltimore’s 68th win.

It was the Pirates’ fifth straight loss and their 82nd of the season, marking the franchise’s seventh straight losing season.

“There have been a lot of encouraging signs, a lot of steps forward, but we still have a long way to go,” Pirates manager Don Kelly said on the SportsNet Pittsburgh postgame show. “So, we’re focusing on those things. Obviously, it’s tough. Growing up in Pittsburgh and understanding the history, I feel it. We feel it. There is frustration with it. But I think for us, what calms that frustration is seeing that progress, seeing guys go out there and continue to get better. We’re not there yet, though.”

Skenes was exceptional yet again for the Pirates as he threw five shutout innings and struck out eight while walking none.

Despite giving up a double to Beavers in the third inning, Skenes never ran into trouble. He erased designated hitter Ryan Mountcastle in the second with a 4-6-3 double play and stranded Beavers at second with a strikeout and groundout.

With that strikeout — his fifth of the outing — Skenes became the second-youngest Pirates pitcher to record 200 strikeouts in a season. Southpaw Oliver Perez set the mark in 2004 when he struck out 239 batters at the age of 22.

“Punching out hitters is one of the reasons that we pitch, so it’s always good to get strikeouts,” Skenes said. “Two hundred is cool, I guess. But hopefully I’m not going to stop there.”

Skenes, who sits at 203 strikeouts, has an opportunity to surpass Mitch Keller’s franchise record for the most strikeouts (210) in a season by a right-hander. Left-hander Bob Veale struck out 250 in 1964 to set the Pirates’ all-time mark.

Unlike his recent starts, Skenes utilized his splinker against the Orioles. After seeing a decrease in its usage over the course of the season, Skenes threw it 14 times Wednesday and drew eight swings. Five of those pitches were fouled off and one was put in play.

“I wanted to show everybody that I still had it, so I decided to throw it more,” Skenes said. “Truthfully, it’s felt game-ready all year. We just haven’t used it a ton. We’ve been kind of back and forth with it at times, but the true sinker has taken a bigger role this year. When you throw something more, you have to throw something else less. So that’s kind of what it’s been.”

Through 30 starts, Skenes leads the major leagues in ERA (1.92), is second in WHIP (0.86), third in strikeouts (203) and fifth in innings pitched (178), further solidifying his case for the National League Cy Young award. With 16 games remaining, Skenes could make three more starts for the Pirates, but those may come in a limited capacity.

Like the Pirates are doing with the rest of their starters, Kelly said Skenes’ workload will be monitored through the remainder of the season to ensure he stays healthy and finishes the year strong. That always has been the goal for the young right-hander.

“The main goal that I’ve had coming into the past two years is making every start,” Skenes said. “There are opportunities to give and take throughout the season, and tonight was kind of one of those. Probably needed it, to be honest. It’s September. It’s late. I’m feeling it a little bit. But the biggest thing is being set up to make every start.”

The only run support Skenes received in his latest outing was a fourth-inning home run from first baseman Spencer Horwitz, who drilled a 2-2 cutter from Orioles starter Tyler Wells over the right-field wall for his eighth of the season.

Wells, who was making his second start of the season after undergoing elbow surgery in 2024, retired the first 10 batters he faced and didn’t lose any momentum. He struck out six and allowed one hit and walk over 6 2/3 innings while throwing 89 pitches.

The Pirates mustered just two hits, struck out 10 times and scored two or fewer runs for the fifth straight game. Second baseman Nick Yorke tallied a single in the eighth off Orioles reliever Shawn Dubin for the team’s other hit.

“It was tough to get anything going there early on,” Kelly said of his team’s offensive struggles. “Then, later, we got some guys on base and couldn’t come up with the big base hit in extra innings. We have to find a way to score a run there.”

Baltimore tied the score in the eighth inning when second baseman Jackson Holliday poked a single past shortstop Jared Triolo into left field. After a dominant outing Tuesday in which he stranded the bases loaded in the 10th inning, Pirates reliever Isaac Mattson gave up back-to-back singles to start the eighth before Holliday capitalized on a changeup on the outer half.

That set the stage for the 10th inning, in which center fielder Oneil Cruz was stranded at third base after a wild pitch by reliever Albert Suárez. Third baseman Cam Devanney capped off an 0-for-4 night with his third strikeout before left fielder Ji Hwan Bae grounded out to the pitcher’s mound.

Pirates right-hander Johan Oviedo will take the mound Thursday against left-hander Cade Povich and will look to end his team’s five-game losing streak in the finale of its three-game set against the Orioles.