The Pittsburgh Pirates started off May with an 8-3 loss to the Chicago Cubs on Thursday afternoon in Pittsburgh. It was the final game of a three-game set against the National League Central-leading Cubs, and there were high hopes with star pitcher Paul Skenes taking the mound.
Unfortunately, Skenes was not himself. The Pirates sensation went five innings and gave up five hits, although three of those were home runs. He also struck out just two batters all day long, which was a career-low for the former LSU star.
Until the fifth inning, Skenes had thrown a shutout. Then, everything unraveled. Dansby Swanson, Kyle Tucker, and Seiya Suzuki all hit home runs in the inning, making the Cubs the first team in MLB to hit three home runs against Skenes in the same game.
Furthermore, Skenes had allowed just one home run all year, so it was a very uncharacteristic inning.
Paul Skenes came into the day having allowed just one home run all season
— Baseball King (@BasebaIlKing) May 1, 2025
The Cubs hit three off him in the fifth inning alonepic.twitter.com/9emaPCd1lr
Skenes entered the game with a 2.39 ERA, so the rough fifth inning sent his ERA to 2.74 as he now has a 3-3 record on the year. The Pirates face the San Diego Padres followed by the St. Louis Cardinals, and hopefully this is a one-off situation for the Pirates star.
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