Paul Skenes dominated again without getting a win. This time, the Pirates ace didn't mind
Associated Press
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Paul Skenes is in a routine.
Pitch deep into a game. Allow a single run, if that. Walk away without a win.
That didn't change Sunday. The 23-year-old Pittsburgh Pirates ace worked 7 2/3 innings against the Philadelphia Phillies, giving up one unearned run on two hits with seven strikeouts and one walk. He was pulled with the game tied 1-all.
Skenes remained 4-6 in his sophomore season despite lowering his ERA to 1.88, second-best in the National League behind the New York Mets' Kodai Senga (1.59).
This time, he didn't mind the no-decision. Pittsburgh won 2-1, completing a three-game sweep and handing Philadelphia its fifth straight loss.
'I think we've been playing pretty good ball for a little bit now and either haven't come out with (wins) or lost by a run or something like that in a few games,' Skenes said. 'I've been happy with the baseball we've been playing. It's nice to finally get some wins out of it, too. It's easy to go on a losing streak, too, so we've just got to keep going.'
Skenes threw 97 pitches (62 strikes). He got through the first two batters of the eighth on four pitches before manager Don Kelly signaled for rookie right-hander Braxton Ashcraft, who entered as fans' booing over the decision subsided.
'We felt like (Skenes) was done,' Kelly said. 'He emptied the tank there that inning. Just felt like it was an opportunity to go to Ashcraft in that moment.
'Unbelievable. What can you say? Just continued to fill up the strike zone, elite stuff. At the beginning, really sharp. Kind of in the middle, looked like it got it away from him. That's just what he's shown, that he's able to dial it back in and just dominate the strike zone. He was unbelievable again today.'
Ashcraft picked up his first win in the majors after Andrew McCutchen hit a go-ahead, broken-bat single in the eighth.
The 25-year-old started with a walk of Brandon Marsh but recovered by getting Rafael Marchan to ground out to second. Returning for the ninth, he forced Alec Bohm into a game-ending double play as rain began to pour.
'It means a lot after somebody puts up a really good outing,' Ashcraft said. '(Skenes) has done that consistently this year. It means a lot to us, as a team, to be able to go out and get him that win. He didn't get the win. I got the win. But, I mean, he got it just as much as I did.'
It was nothing out of the ordinary. Skenes gave up one run on three hits with eight strikeouts in eight innings against the Houston Astros on Tuesday in his previous outing, but the Pirates lost 3-0.
Skenes is 1-4 in his past eight starts, even though he's given up just five runs in 42 1/3 innings over his last six. Pittsburgh has averaged 3.35 runs in his 14 starts and he is 0-2 in three games where he's gone into the eighth, despite allowing three runs total (two earned).
Cristopher Sanchez nearly matched Skenes on Sunday, giving up two runs and striking out nine in seven innings.
Dueling with another starter is fine with Skenes, but he doesn't mind the alternative.
'It's fun,' Skenes said. 'Pitching in 10-0 games is fun, too.'
___
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/MLB
recommended
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
26 minutes ago
- Yahoo
After 2 overtime games, Panthers and Oilers relish days off as Stanley Cup Final shifts to Florida
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — After Brad Marchand scored the winning goal in Game 2 of the Stanley Cup Final, he and Florida Panthers teammate Sam Bennett were asked how they kept their bodies going during another long and intense matchup against the Edmonton Oilers. 'I think (Marchand) grabbed a Blizzard … I think it was Oreo today,' Bennett quipped, referring to a viral moment during the Eastern Conference finals when Marchand joked that he enjoyed a chocolate chip cookie dough treat from Dairy Queen between periods — which was later revealed as a spoonful of honey. Advertisement 'Nice plug," Marchand responded with a chuckle. 'I like that.' They were joking, of course, but there was a point in Friday night's double-overtime game that Marchand spent time between periods pedaling on an exercise bike to stay loose — as players from both teams shuffled their tired bodies on and off the ice for hours. The first two games of the Stanley Cup Final have gone to overtime, only the sixth time in NHL history that's happened and first since 2014. Game 1 went on until Leon Draisaitl's power-play goal 19:29 into the extra period. Marchand put Game 2 to an end with a breakaway goal 8:07 into the second overtime. With the series tied 1-1, both teams will embark on a cross-continent trip from Canada to Florida, enjoying an extra day's rest between games to recover after an intense start to their championship series. Game 3 is Monday night in Sunrise, Florida. Advertisement "Obviously a long game, a lot of back and forth," said Florida defenseman Seth Jones, who led the Panthers in ice time at 34 minutes, 35 seconds on Friday. Jones, who is averaging a team-high 25:45 on the ice in the postseason, played more than 30 minutes in both of the first two games of the series. He scored in the first period on Friday — his fourth goal of the postseason — and assisted on Dmitry Kulikov's goal in the second. 'We came here for a split and got it," Jones added, "and just going to recover now.' Panthers coach Paul Maurice said heading back to Florida with the series tied — instead of being down 0-2 — does make a minor mental difference, but one of his team's strengths is its tunnel vision approach. Advertisement 'It's mathematically significant," Maurice said. "I'd like to think that we'd be dragging here today, this morning, if we had lost that game having had the lead for so long. But I think we're really good at cutting it off. "It's the same morning this morning at the meal room as it was two days ago (after the Game 1 loss). It's just on to the next day. We understand how to leave our days — the good ones and the bad ones — in the past and handle the day we have right now.' The Oilers are moving forward in the series with an equally short memory after missed chances in Game 2. Corey Perry, whose goal with 17.8 seconds left in the third period forced overtime, said the back-and-forth nature of the series was to be expected from the two teams, but there's no use in getting hung up on 'what-ifs.' Advertisement 'What's it going to do?' Perry said. "It's not going to do anything for you now. Get on the plane tomorrow and get some rest and be ready for Game 3.' Few players have spent more time on the ice in the series than Connor McDavid. The Edmonton star played 31:12 in Game 1, and just over 35 minutes in Game 2 — more than anyone else in the game. That's nearly 10 minutes more than his postseason average of 24:22. McDavid's impact was certainly felt on Friday. He had three assists, including one in which he zipped through Florida's penalty kill to set up Draisaitl's power play goal in the first. Draisaitl noted after the game there's only one player in the world that can make such a highlight-reel play, but stressed the importance of using the two days off to recalibrate. Advertisement 'At this time of year, you've got to move on,' he said, 'There's not time thinking about it too long. Obviously it stings right now, but we have to move on.' ___ AP NHL playoffs: and Alanis Thames, The Associated Press
Fox Sports
26 minutes ago
- Fox Sports
Brown, Milam drive in 4 runs each, LSU beats West Virginia 12-5 to clinch 20th CWS berth
Associated Press BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Jake Brown hit a home run and had four RBIs, Steven Milam had two doubles and also drove in four runs and LSU beat West Virginia 12-5 on Sunday night to sweep the best-of-three Baton Rouge Super Regional. No. 6 seed LSU (48-15) clinched the program's 20th berth in the College World Series, where the Tigers will try to win their eighth national championship — all since 1991, the most recent in 2023. Derek Curiel led off the game with a double and scored to make it 1-0 when Brown reached on a fielder's choice in the first inning and the Tigers led the rest of the way. Anthony Eyanson (11-2) gave up four runs on five hits with three walks and seven strikeouts in five innings. Chris Stanfield, Curiel and Ethan Frey each drew a two-out walk to load the bases before Milam cleared the bases with a double off starter Jack Kartsonas (6-4) to spark a five-run second that made it 6-0. After Jace Rinehart hit a two-out solo shot and pinch-hitter Chase Swain drew a walk, Chase Shores came on a struck out Brodie Kresser swinging to end the eighth and the pitched a 1-2-3 ninth. Sam White hit a leadoff homer and Ben Lumsden added a two-run shot in the fourth before White added an RBI single in the fifth to cut the deficit to 6-4. Stanfield hit a two-RBI single to spark a six-run seventh, capped when Brown's two-run home run gave LSU an eight-run lead. Milam and Josh Pearson each hit a grand slam as LSU beat the Mountaineers 16-9 in Game 1 on Saturday. West Virginia (44-16) set the program's single-season record for wins under first-year coach Steve Sabins. The Mountains advanced to their first-ever super regional last season. The game had originally been scheduled for 5:06 p.m. local time but was delayed approximately three hours due to inclement weather in the area. ___ AP college sports: recommended
Hamilton Spectator
2 hours ago
- Hamilton Spectator
Saudi Arabia's World Cup hopes hinge on a near-impossible task against Australia
A Saudi squad that has scored six goals through nine qualifying games needs to beat Australia by a five-goal margin to earn a direct spot at the 2026 World Cup. Head coach Herve Renard knows it's an extremely unlikely outcome for his Saudi team, but he's urging his players to go all in Tuesday in the last game of the third round of Asian qualifying for next year's global tournament. 'The door is closed but we have to try to qualify even if it is through the window,' Renard said after his team's 2-0 win over Bahrain last week kept Saudi. 'Everything must go very well for us if we are to qualify; we have to score goals.' Anything less than a five-goal deficit means Australia — in second spot in Group C — qualifies for a seventh World Cup. The last time the Socceroos lost by such a margin was in successive 6-0 defeats against Brazil and France in 2013. The Australians have scored 14 goals and conceded six through nine qualifiers. After successive World Cup qualifications through the playoffs, Australia is close to securing a direct route but coach Tony Popovic is taking nothing for granted. 'We need to do a job in Saudi,' Popovic said. 'We're in a great position, but we need to finish it off.' Popovic has only been in the job since September, stepping in after Graham Arnold resigned after collecting just one point in the group's first two qualification games. 'It's been a really intense period since I've come in but everyone's embraced what we're aiming to do,' he said. 'And we're very close now to achieving our goal.' Asia has been allocated eight places at the 48-team World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The top two teams in each of the three groups in this round advance directly. The third- and fourth-place teams in each group go into another round vying for two more places. Japan was the first to qualify and will top Group C regardless of the outcome between Australia and third-place Saudi Arabia. Iran and Uzbekistan have qualified from Group A, and South Korea and Jordan have qualified from Group B. If Saudi Arabia fails to win by five, it will join United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Indonesia and Iraq in the next stage of qualifying in October. Oman, meanwhile, is fourth in Group B, a point ahead of the Palestinian team in fifth place, with the two teams meeting in Amman on Tuesday. 'We still have everything to play for and we know what we have to do and that is to take all three points and continue our journey,' Palestinian coach Ihab Abujazar said. For China , Kuwait, North Korea, Kyrgyzstan and Bahrain, the run to 2026 is already over. ___ AP soccer:
