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Pirates Ace Paul Skenes Supported by Legendary Announcer After Tough Loss Sunday
Pirates Ace Paul Skenes Supported by Legendary Announcer After Tough Loss Sunday originally appeared on Athlon Sports.
The Pittsburgh Pirates and manager Don Kelly came out on the losing side again Sunday as a familiar scene played itself out at T-Mobile Park in Seattle.
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The Pirates lost 1-0 to the Mariners on a day when ace pitcher Paul Skenes put on a pitching clinic in front of his Pirates teammates, who once again failed to drum up the amount of run support necessary to grant Pittsburgh the victory.
Skenes pitched five innings, giving up five hits and no earned runs while striking out ten batters on the day.
Reliever Carmen Slodzinski relieved Skenes in the sixth inning before giving up a run in 2.2 innings of work that would prove to be the Pirates' undoing.
Following the game, Skenes got a vote of support from college basketball legend Dick Vitale, who shared his thoughts on the difficulties Skenes has faced this season.
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Pirates starting pitcher Paul Skenes (30).Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images
"The most unlucky guy record wise in @MLB is the @Pirates PAUL SKENES," Vitale wrote on his X account.
"@Paul_Skenes who it seems never gets any run support. Sits at 4-7 with ERA 1.9 - ppl in baseball realize how good he is despite a losing record.
"He is an ALL STAR again this year."
Skenes was the lone All-Star representative for Pittsburgh this season, a bright spot on an otherwise dim season for Kelly's team in Steel City.
"The Pirates offense is trash, Paul Skenes is ELITE," one fan said.
Another compared Skenes to former Mariners pitcher Felix Martinez, nicknamed 'King Felix,' putting them both in the same class of players.
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This story was originally reported by Athlon Sports on Jul 7, 2025, where it first appeared.
