Pittsburgh Review

PITTSBURGH -- Paul Skenes set a career high in walks during his start on Friday against the Mariners at PNC Park. The offense began the game by striking out four times in a row and recording only one baserunner the first time through.

Despite these challenges, Pittsburgh snapped its 10-game losing streak with a 5-3 victory over Seattle in the series opener. The Pirates managed to stay in the game early, even as their offense struggled against Logan Gilbert, due to Skenes’ ability to navigate issues with his location.

The rookie ace walked four batters, including one that came around on a two-run homer by Luke Raley in the fourth inning. Some of his command struggles were evident with his usually reliable splinker early on. However, Skenes emphasized the importance of continuing to use this pitch.

“Everything else kind of plays off that,” Skenes said. “It wasn’t like I had no idea where it was going. I was just missing. I don’t know if it looks that way, but I knew I was close. Basically just had to keep throwing it to get it back.”

Skenes made it to the sixth inning before losing a seven-pitch battle to Raley with one out. With lefty Dominic Canzone up next and lefty reliever Jalen Beeks warming up for the Pirates, manager Derek Shelton decided to stick with his ace despite the command issues.

On one pitch, Skenes got Canzone to roll into an inning-ending double play. Shelton expressed confidence in his pitcher’s abilities.

“I think all of us get enamored with how good he is and then he has a start like this where his delivery is not in sync and he walks and everybody thinks it’s Armageddon,” Shelton said. “He’s a Major League pitcher that is dealing with things, and we saw a Major League pitcher deal with something today and still give us a chance to win, which I give him credit for.”

Skenes credited backstop Yasmani Grandal for helping him navigate through inconsistency without needing a shake-off. Grandal also contributed significantly on offense.

Andrew McCutchen’s sacrifice fly in the fifth plated the go-ahead run, while Oneil Cruz’s two-run double provided the game-winning hit. However, Grandal's first-pitch game-tying homer in the fifth inning was crucial for shifting momentum after being down by two runs.

Grandal has shown improvement at the plate recently, hitting .283 with three homers over his past 15 games after starting the season hitting .171 with two homers in his first 39 games as a Pirate. Shelton praised Grandal's recent performances as some of his best.

“You look back over the course of his career -- this guy has been a really elite hitter, and he’s still really smart,” Shelton said. “His body may not be able to do certain things that he was able to do three or four years ago, but I think we saw that in the second at-bat on the homer: He sat on a pitch, he got it, he didn’t miss it.”

The Pirates' 10-game losing streak matched their longest since 2010 when they lost 12 straight games. Despite being seven games out of the final National League Wild Card spot now, ending their losing streak allows them to focus on starting anew.

“It feels good. Definitely doesn’t feel good that we had the streak in the first place,” Skenes said. “It’s nice to do it at home and get it out of the way. Hopefully, we can put it behind us.”