Pirates right-hander Paul Skenes was lined up to take the ball in the final matchup of a three-game set against the Red Sox on Sunday. Instead, it’ll be a bullpen game for Pittsburgh. Manager Don Kelly told reporters that Skenes will make his next start on Wednesday against the Tigers.
Kelly said the move is not injury-related, but an effort to give Skenes more rest (h/t Colin Beazley of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette). The reigning NL Cy Young winner seemed to be on board with the move, though it wasn’t his call.
“Like I said after the last start, I’ll have his back on whatever that is,” Skenes said, relayed by Beazley. “I don’t necessarily disagree with the decision either.”
The start Skenes is referring to, which came on Tuesday against the Marlins, was concerning for multiple reasons. Skenes’ fastball was down more than a mile per hour. He sat at a career-low 95.7 mph with the heater. Skenes was removed after just 65 pitches. He had allowed one earned run over five innings. It wasn’t a dominant start, but it was surprising to see a workhorse like Skenes pulled so soon.
The outing in Miami lowered Skenes’ ERA to 3.88. That’s a fine mark, but it’s a far cry from the sub-2.00 seasons he put together in his first two big-league campaigns. Skenes averaged over 98 mph on his four-seamer in both of those years. He’s at 96.8 mph this season.
Skenes seemed to have righted the ship after a disastrous season opener that saw him fail to get out of the first inning against the Mets. He opened May with back-to-back outings of eight scoreless frames to lower his ERA under that familiar 2.00 threshold. Skenes’ season took a turn from there. He allowed five earned runs over five innings against the Phillies in his next outing. It kicked off a 16-start stretch with a 5.00 ERA. Skenes recorded a 3.82 xERA in that span, suggesting a bit of bad luck, but that mark would still be an underwhelming outcome.
Outside of the dip in fastball velocity, Skenes’ arsenal looks the same as it did in 2025. He’s relying on the four-seamer 41% of the time. The sweeper, changeup, splitter, and sinker have usage rates between 10% and 16%. Skenes has mostly ditched the curveball, but he threw it less than 5% of the time last year. The repertoire grades out similarly. Skenes has a 108 Stuff+ in 2026, compared to a 110 Stuff+ last year. His Location+ has also dipped slightly.
The one other aspect to note is Skenes’ arm angle. After being at 23 degrees in each of his first two seasons, he’s up to 26 degrees this year. That’s not a massive change. It’s the type of adjustment that would probably go unnoticed if Skenes were having a normal season. But, of course, this is not a typical Skenes season. Arm angle differences don’t necessarily mean a guy is dealing with a physical issue, but it could suggest a pitcher is searching for a slot that feels more comfortable (or less painful).
When asked about a possible injury, Kelly reiterated that pushing Skenes back wasn’t for health reasons. “Everyone is dealing with stuff this year,” the skipper said, relayed by Jason Mackey of MLB.com. “But he’s given us no indication that it’s injury-related.”
Skenes will now have a week off between starts. He pitched on seven days’ rest after the All-Star break and delivered seven innings of one-run ball against the Guardians. His fastball sat at 96.7 mph in that outing, right in line with his season-long average.
Photo courtesy of Sam Navarro, Imagn Images
