Pittsburgh Review

PITTSBURGH -- Paul Skenes’ shortest start in two months came at an inopportune time, both in terms of the opponent and the state of the bullpen. Skenes was pulled after 5 1/3 innings, pushing Colin Holderman to pitch the seventh and take his third loss in five days in a 6-5 Pirates loss to the Diamondbacks at PNC Park on Sunday.

Holderman, who has struggled against the Diamondbacks recently -- nearly blowing a four-run lead last Sunday and surrendering the deciding run in Friday’s loss -- was one strike away from completing the seventh before Joc Pederson launched a sinker to left for a go-ahead three-run home run.

For Skenes, he managed to go five scoreless innings despite striking out only four but tailed off towards the end of his outing. He allowed a leadoff triple to Corbin Carroll in the sixth and was removed with two runners on base. Hunter Stratton minimized the damage to just one more run, but given the state of the bullpen after having pitched five innings in Saturday’s rain-affected game, it was a less than ideal situation. The Diamondbacks were able to come back.

The Pirates ended up losing a pivotal rubber match and the season series to a team they are chasing in the NL Wild Card race, falling to 56-55 on the year.