Pirates Swept As Paul Skenes' Mystifying Woes Against Division Rival Continue

Pirates Swept As Paul Skenes' Mystifying Woes Against Division Rival Continue originally appeared on SportsNet Pittsburgh . Add SportsNet Pittsburgh as a Preferred Source by clicking here .

Paul Skenes is one of the best pitchers in baseball and has dominated most teams in the Major Leagues. However, one team that seems to have his number is the St. Louis Cardinals .

Skenes had trouble with them again on Thursday, allowing five runs (four earned) on eight hits in five innings against them. He also surrendered two home runs, both of which came in the first inning.

The Cardinals got to Skenes for three runs in the first. By comparison, he'd yielded just three total runs over his previous five starts combined.

The reigning NL Cy Young winner settled down after that but still took the loss in the Pittsburgh Pirates ' 10-5 defeat at PNC Park, dropping his record to 0-5 in seven career starts against St. Louis .

That record is somewhat deceiving, however, as Skenes has a 2.95 ERA and 50 strikeouts in 42 2/3 innings against the Cardinals. In other words, he's endured his share of bad luck against St. Louis.

As a division rival, the Cardinals also face Skenes more than other teams and are more familiar with him, so it's not surprising that they've had some success against him.

Thursday's loss was Skenes' first since his disastrous Opening Day outing against the New York Mets , ending his run of four straight wins and capping off a four-game sweep by St. Louis. He'll look to bounce back in his next scheduled start against the Arizona Diamondbacks on the road next week.

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