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Pirates ace Paul Skenes’ impressive strikeout streak puts him in company with 1 other pitcher
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- Pirates ace Paul Skenes’ impressive strikeout streak puts him in company with 1 other pitcher
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Pittsburgh Pirates star Paul Skenes had another productive outing in the strikeout department.
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The reigning National League Cy Young Award winner and Pirates ace was back at it again on Thursday, as he made his 12th start of the 2026 MLB season. Just like in most of his previous starts, the former LSU Tigers star hurler racked up a lot of strikeouts.
In 5.1 innings of work, Skenes punched out 10 Chicago hitters, and in doing so, he got his second consecutive streak of starts with at least six strikeouts. It's notable as well because that feat has been done by only one other pitcher in over six decades.
"Among pitchers to debut in the expansion era (1961), only Spencer Strider (4) and Paul Skenes (3 including tonight) had more than two single-game streaks of 6+ consecutive strikeouts within their first 67 starts," Sarah Langs of MLB.com shared via a social media post on X, formerly Twitter.
The bulk of his strikeouts in the Cubs series finale at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, came when he struck out six in a row during a stretch from the first inning to the third.
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Unfortunately for Skenes, his performance was still not enough for the Pirates to win. He gave up three runs (one earned) on four hits with three walks in a 7-2 Pittsburgh loss.
Throwing errors by third baseman Tyler Callihan and shortstop Jared Triolo in the sixth inning resulted in two runs in the sixth inning, which weren't charged to Skenes. The only run that he was clearly responsible for was Seiya Suzuki 's RBI single in the fourth inning.
It was Skenes' third loss in a row as a starter .
Related: Pirates' Paul Skenes makes even more history despite loss to Cubs
Related: Pirates' Paul Skenes drops 'hit or miss' take on discouraging Cubs loss
