PITTSBURGH — It’s tough to search out any negatives about Paul Skenes.
The Pirates right-hander leads the Main Leagues with a 1.98 ERA. He’s thought of the favourite to win the Nationwide League Cy Younger Award a 12 months after profitable NL Rookie of the Yr. Skenes has began within the All-Star Recreation in each of his seasons within the massive leagues.
Nevertheless, the one knock — in the event you may name it that — on Skenes was that his document had not been above .500 all season. That lastly modified Thursday night time.
“They’ll’t say that about me anymore,” Skenes mentioned with a sly smile.
Skenes pitched six scoreless innings to enhance his document to 10-9 because the Pirates held off the Dodgers, 5-3, at PNC Park and swept the three-game collection in opposition to the NL West leaders.
Skenes strengthened his already sturdy case to win the Cy Younger. Simply two Pirates have gained Cy Youngs, Vernon Legislation in 1960 and Doug Drabek in 1990.
Pirates supervisor Don Kelly is keen to be Skenes’ marketing campaign supervisor.
“Clearly, for the man, the best way he works, the best way he competes, the stuff he’s acquired, the best way he goes about it, all of us need that for him,” Kelly mentioned. “Hopefully, it’s this 12 months. Whether or not it’s this 12 months or not, he’s a Cy Younger-worthy pitcher. It will imply so much to Paul, to the group, for him to win that.
“Understanding Paul and the best way he goes about issues, the factor that’s so spectacular is that’s not why he does what he does. He does what he does as a result of he needs to be actually good. He needs to be nice. And he needs to go on the market and assist the Pittsburgh Pirates win baseball video games.”
The Dodgers entered the sport because the third-highest scoring staff in MLB with a mean of 5.09 runs a sport. But Skenes gave up simply two hits, struck out eight — together with NL MVP favourite Shohei Ohtani twice — and walked one.
“They name it ‘The Present’ for a cause,” Skenes mentioned of the problem of going through a staff just like the Dodgers. “That’s the stuff that you simply take pleasure in. Going for a sweep at residence in opposition to arguably one of the best staff in baseball, these are cool alternatives. You’ll be able to’t take them without any consideration.”
Skenes additionally isn’t taking without any consideration that he’s thought of the Cy Younger favourite.
“It comes all the way down to pitching properly,” Skenes mentioned. “You’ll be able to pitch properly and quit runs, and you cannot pitch properly and never surrender runs. I acquired 4 or 5 begins left. I do not wish to depart something out on the sector going into the offseason. It’s the identical mindset I had final 12 months. Wherever I find yourself I find yourself, however I do not wish to depart something on the market.”
The Pirates scored 5 runs in 5 innings off Blake Snell, a two-time Cy Younger winner himself, to assist face up to a Dodgers’ last-ditch rally. Tommy Pham opened the scoring with an RBI single within the third inning. The Pirates then had a four-run fifth that pushed their result in 5-0 with Nick Yorke’s two-run double.
The Dodgers scored three runs within the ninth inning to make it a two-run sport, however Colin Holderman acquired the final two outs for his first save since 2023. Holderman entered with a 7.89 ERA in 20 video games this season.
The Pirates have gained 12 of their final 16 video games and are 52-51 since Don Kelly changed Derek Shelton as supervisor on Could 8. The Pirates have been 12-26 on the time of the change.
“We’re taking part in good baseball,” Skenes mentioned. “I don’t know what confidence comes from, individually or team-wise. I believe to an extent, it comes from success. So, I believe we’ve proven ourselves that we will do it, and that offers us confidence.”
