Paul Skenes strikes out eight in hard-luck loss

Skenes was hardly dominant in striking out four and giving up eight hits, but very importantly, his stuff rebounded some tonight. He averaged 97.1 mph with his fastball. That 0.8 mph better than his season low from an ugly start against the Phillies last week, and his first time over 97 since May 28. His fastball spin rate was also back up to 2,150 rpm. He exceeded that mark in each of his first 14 starts, but he was below it his last four times out, bottoming out at 1,988 last week. So, that’s encouraging. The Skenes of 2025 probably isn’t walking through that door Sunday against the Brewers, but the bleeding seems to have stopped. He’s 7-8 with a 3.58 ERA.

It’s a colossal bummer for baseball fans hoping to see Misiorowski hurling triple-digit heaters during next week’s Midsummer Classic, but this was always the expected outcome here. Skenes, Misorowski and Meyer are all taking the ball for their respective club’s first-half finales on Sunday, which means there was zero chance they would be able to pitch in the All-Star Game just three days later. Luzardo, Ashcraft and O’Brien are headed to the game for the first time in their respective careers. It’s likely going to be Shohei Ohtani taking the ball to start for the National League based on how things are lining up from a schedule standpoint.

Skenes’ command was off tonight, and his fastball velocity was down 0.7 mph from his season average. Still, he probably could have gotten through four allowing one run with just a little help. In the second, he should have had Gabriel Rincones Jr. struck out on what was called ball three, but the Pirates were afraid to challenge the pitch after already burning one. He went on to walk, and then, with the bases loaded, Justin Crawford hit a little chopper to third that Nick Gonzales got no outs on after his throw home hit Alec Bohm. Trea Turner went on to homer in a five-run inning. In the fourth, the Phillies hit Skenes very hard, but Bryce Harper’s two-run double could have been caught if the Pirates didn’t have an infielder in Tyler Callahan playing left. No pitcher in the league has been let down more by his defense this year than Skenes. It’s not wholly responsible for his decline, but it’s a big part of it. He’ll take a 3.63 ERA into his next start against the Braves.

After getting through the first inning without any issue, Skenes surrendered four-straight hits to start the second inning, which resulted in two runs coming across to score, and then walked Matt McLain to load the bases with no outs. The Reds would then hit back-to-back sacrifice flies to drive in two more runs and push their lead to 4-1, driving Skenes’ pitch total up to 56 by the end of the second inning. He would power through from there, keeping the Reds off the board while getting through five innings of work, but the rough inning was enough to give Skenes his worst start since May. He’ll look to bounce back in his next start, which is scheduled for Wednesday against the Phillies.

Skenes racked up 10 strikeouts on the day while allowing only one base on balls. All of the damage done against him came on a pair of solo home runs in the second inning by Heriberto Hernandez and Joe Mack. Aside from that, Skenes was brilliant, he just didn’t get the necessary run support. The 24-year-old hurler got a whopping 23 swings and misses on 104 pitches in the game — 12 on his fastball — while posting an elite CSW of 35 percent. Now 6-6 on the season, he’ll bring a stellar 2.85 ERA, 0.93 WHIP and a 99/16 K/BB ratio (82 innings) into Saturday’s matchup against the Rockies in Colorado.

Skenes generated 19 swinging strikes and needed 103 pitches (62 strikes) to work through six innings against Los Angeles’ star-studded lineup. It was his third straight start where he eclipsed 100 pitches. Max Muncy proved to be the primary thorn in his side, accounting for three of the six hits he allowed, including a game-tying single to shallow right with two outs in the sixth. The 24-year-old fantasy ace holds a stellar 2.84 ERA, 0.93 WHIP and 89/15 K/BB ratio across 76 innings through 14 starts. He’ll close out a two-start week with a favorable home matchup against the Marlins on Sunday.

Skenes exited with a 4-3 lead after allowing two singles, striking out two and then giving up an RBI single in the fifth. Yohan Ramírez took over and retired Jake Meyers to end the inning. Of course, that left Skenes ineligible for the win in a game in which he averaged about eight pitches per out. Skenes struck out seven and wasn’t hit very hard; the two-run rally in the third started out with a bunt single and a walk before Yordan Alvarez and Isaac Paredes delivered RBI singles. This makes four straight mediocre starts for Skenes, but his strikeout rate is holding up fine and he’s allowed only two homers since the beginning of March. Things should turn around soon, though perhaps not against the Dodgers next time out.

Skenes struck out a whopping 10 batters in the ballgame while walking three. He allowed a run in the fourth inning on an RBI single by Seiya Suzuki, then the Cubs added a pair of unearned runs while chasing him in the sixth inning. Skenes generated 20 swings and misses on 103 pitches on the night — eight of them on his changeup — while registering a strong CSW of 32 percent. With the loss he falls to 6-5 on the season despite his outstanding 2.89 ERA, 0.86 WHIP and 75/12 K/BB ratio across 65 1/3 innings. He’ll do battle against the Astros his next time out in Houston on Wednesday.

Skenes, who allowed one run through five, gave up four straight hits to begin the sixth. The third of those, a Jesús Sánchez RBI double, should have been a strikeout, but a checked swing that seemed to be in strike territory went uncalled, allowing the at-bat to continue. Skenes was pulled after the fourth hit, and Yohan Ramírez stranded two out of three despite coming on with none out. It’s the second straight start in which Skenes has allowed at least four runs, which is something that had never happened before. He’s given up at least four runs four times in 11 starts this year. It was five times in 55 career starts coming into the year. Still, there aren’t any big concerns here. Skenes’ velocity is down about one mph from last year and another sub-2.00 ERA probably isn’t on the way, but he still looks like a top-five starter. He’ll face the Cubs on Thursday.

On the plus side for fantasy managers, Skenes racked up seven strikeouts on the day while allowing only one base on balls. He kept the Phillies off the board for the first four innings, but they scratched out a pair to take the lead in the fifth inning and added three more while chasing Skenes in the sixth. He got 10 swings and misses on 92 pitches on the day, posting a CSW of 25 percent. Now 6-3 on the season, he’ll bring a terrific 2.62 ERA, 0.71 WHIP and a 63/8 K/BB ratio (55 innings) into Saturday’s showdown against the Blue Jays in Toronto.