Paul Skenes Explains What Went Wrong In Start Against Cardinals

Paul Skenes Explains What Went Wrong In Start Against Cardinals originally appeared on SportsNet Pittsburgh . Add SportsNet Pittsburgh as a Preferred Source by clicking here .

Paul Skenes had a rough outing against the St. Louis Cardinals on Thursday.

Pittsburgh gave the ball to its ace to try to avoid being swept in a four-game series against the Cardinals. Yet, early on, Skenes struggled as St. Louis jumped out to a 3-0 lead after the first inning. It took 29 pitches for Skenes to get out of the first innings, as although he did strike out the side, he said his command wasn’t there early on.

“Just didn't have the best command of everything in those first couple of innings,” Skenes said postgame on Thursday. “Settled in a little bit, and then they did a pretty good job in the last few innings. Just had to grind through it a little bit.”

Skenes allowed two home runs in the first inning, which was the second time the right-hander allowed multiple home runs in the same inning, as he allowed three home runs in the fifth inning vs. the Chicago Cubs on May 1, 2025.

It was a frustrating result for Skenes and the Pirates , who were swept by the Cardinals.

“Every team is going to have skids,” Skenes said. “Just got to get back to who we are and just play our game, (don’t) try to do too much -- just (feels) like we’ve been trying to do too much a little bit, especially today.”

Pittsburgh will look to get back on track in a three-game homestead against the Cincinnati Reds over the weekend.

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