Pirates’ Paul Skenes strives to regain dominance in conflict vs. Padres

The Pittsburgh Pirates’ extra-inning win over the San Diego Padres on Monday might be classified as a case of too little, too late when it comes to Pittsburgh’s playoff hopes.

Still, for the Pirates, the 3-2 victory in 12 innings was a relief after a three-game weekend sweep by the Los Angeles Dodgers.

Now, Pittsburgh needs right-hander Paul Skenes to resemble the ace he was in his first two seasons — he won the National League Cy Young Award in 2025 — instead of the pitcher who has been pretty mortal lately.

Skenes (9-11, 3.95 ERA) will continue the search for his top form Tuesday night when the Pirates shoot for a series win in San Diego.

Skenes, 24, is coming off a no-decision Wednesday in Pittsburgh’s 4-3 home win over Detroit. He lasted only 4 1/3 innings and 81 pitches, yielding four hits and three runs with four walks and five strikeouts.

Since the start of July, Skenes has a 5.67 ERA, walking 21 over 46 innings.

“I think there’s been a lot of good,” he said after the start on Wednesday. “I think there’s some stuff … the walks. It’s frustrating. Nobody wants to go out there and walk anybody. Nobody’s trying to.”

Even with diminished velocity, Skenes is capable of shutting down opponents. He owns a win in his only career outing against the Padres, on April 7, allowing one run over 6 1/3 innings in a 7-1 victory.

Pittsburgh manager Don Kelly has limited Skenes’ pitch count the past two outings, hoping to keep him fresh for his final starts of the year. It’ll be interesting to see if Kelly still keeps Skenes at about 85 pitches or gives him more after the bullpen covered the last 18 outs of Monday night’s marathon.

The Padres hope for a long outing from their Tuesday starter, right-hander Michael King (8-9, 3.38 ERA), after their bullpen worked 6 2/3 innings Monday night.

King is coming off a 4-2 loss Wednesday at the New York Mets despite allowing only two runs, four hits and two walks in 6 2/3 innings with four strikeouts. He beat the Pirates on April 8 to polish off a series win. King has a 2-0 record and a 2.65 ERA in three career appearances against Pittsburgh.

In the National League playoff race, the Pirates are 7 1/2 games out of the third and final wild-card spot, currently held by the Padres, who remain two games behind Philadelphia for the second position and two ahead of Arizona for the third.

A lack of clutch hitting late in the game doomed the Padres on Monday.

San Diego filled the bases with one out in the 11th, but Jackson Merrill struck out and Xander Bogaerts lined out. The Padres went 1-for-13 with runners in scoring position.

“Definitely some missed opportunities for sure,” manager Craig Stammen said. “We’re gonna regret losing that one. Feel like we had several opportunities to win the game.”

It was just the eighth loss in the past 29 games for San Diego. The result also ended its eight-game home winning streak.

–Field Level Media