PITTSBURGH — Paul Skenes is in a routine.
Pitch deep into a game. Allow a single run, if that. Walk away without a win.
That didn't change Sunday. The 23-year-old Pittsburgh Pirates ace worked 7⅔ innings against the Philadelphia Phillies, giving up one unearned run on two hits with seven strikeouts and one walk. He was pulled with the game tied 1-all.
Skenes remained 4-6 in his sophomore season despite lowering his ERA to 1.88, second best in the National League behind the New York Mets' Kodai Senga (1.59).
This time, he didn't mind the no-decision. Pittsburgh won 2-1, completing a three-game sweep and handing Philadelphia its fifth straight loss.
«I think we've been playing pretty good ball for a little bit now and either haven't come out with [wins] or lost by a run or something like that in a few games,» Skenes said. «I've been happy with the baseball we've been playing. It's nice to finally get some wins out of it, too. It's easy to go on a losing streak, too, so we've just got to keep going.»
Skenes threw 97 pitches (62 strikes). He got through the first two batters of the eighth on four pitches before manager Don Kelly signaled for rookie right-hander Braxton Ashcraft, who entered as fans' booing over the decision subsided.
«We felt like [Skenes] was done,» Kelly said. «He emptied the tank there that inning. Just felt like it was an opportunity to go to Ashcraft in that moment.
»Unbelievable. What can you say [about Skenes]? Just continued to fill up the strike zone, elite stuff. At the beginning, really sharp. Kind of in the middle, looked like it got it away from him. That's just what he's shown, that he's able to dial it back in and just dominate the strike zone. He was unbelievable again today."
Ashcraft picked
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