Tim Benz: Paul Skenes' rough outing continues typically dreary start for Pirates

On Tuesday night, Paul Skenes actually looked human. Fortunately, there was barely anyone in the ballpark to see it.

Even the draw of seeing the Pittsburgh Pirates ace in his 2025 home debut wasn’t enough to lure more than 8,291 out to PNC Park on a 38-degree night against the St. Louis Cardinals. Those who were wise enough to stay home avoided witnessing Skenes allow his most earned runs in a game during his short career as the Cardinals touched him up for five en route to a 5-3 victory.

Skenes just wasn’t up to his usual lofty standards as he served up base hits in the fourth inning like they were Surfsides atop the Clemente wall. St. Louis scored three runs on four hits in that frame.

VS2 with the RBI triple! pic.twitter.com/AMjTxKaoCu

— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) April 8, 2025

Then they plated two more in the sixth.

“Balls were in the middle of the plate,” manager Derek Shelton said. “It looked like they had a pretty good approach off him. But we usually don’t see him leave that many balls in the middle of the plate. Especially up. I think that’s what got to him.”

Skenes only walked one and struck out seven, but he simply gave the Cardinals too much to hit.

“I think I just missed across the plate a couple of times. I let them get their ‘A-swings’ off too many times,” Skenes said. “A lot of the time, you get away with those. I just didn’t get away with them. Tip your cap to them.”

Skenes admitted the cold weather was a factor for him. But he also knows it can’t be an excuse because Cardinals starter Sonny Gray only allowed one run in five innings.

“Sonny was pitching in it too. Our relievers were pitching in it too,” Skenes said of the cold. “It didn’t feel that bad. But the balls were a little slicker and a little colder. I’ve got to adjust.”

More sports

• Pirates left to explain why personalized 'Bucco Bricks' from PNC Park ended up on scrap heap
• Pirates hope minor league stint can fix David Bednar's struggles
• Tim Benz: Ben Cherington's Paul Skenes-Pedro Martinez comp misses a crucial ingredient

It’s obvious, though, that the Pirates are a long way from picking up Skenes on an off day. Multiple times last year, Skenes did that for the rest of his team when it had little to offer.

Just look at his results last year against St. Louis. In 2024, Skenes faced the Cardinals three times. In those games, Skenes posted a 23:1 strikeout-to-walk ratio and 1.32 ERA. Yet he went 0-2 and absorbed a no-decision along the way.

The batting order did little to suggest that trend might be more of a two-way street this season. Through the first eight innings, the Bucs’ bats managed just one run on three hits and struck out eight times while drawing no walks.

“Sonny can pitch — the ability to spin the ball,” Shelton said. “On a cold night, he did a good job with it. He kept us off balance by using his breaking ball and his slider.”

For two days, it appeared the Pirates had stopped the bleeding after being dragged through the mud by the public and the local media. Wins against the Yankees on Sunday and the Cardinals on Monday provided a temporary salve after 48 hours of negative press surrounding fan acrimony, tone-deaf quotes by the owner, removed Roberto Clemente tributes and missing bricks.

But a disappointing outing from the team’s only ray of hope agitated the paying customers yet again.

And it’s amazing how loud those “Sell The Team” chants can be even though roughly 30,000 of the seats were empty.

At this rate, they might stay that way for a while.