PITTSBURGH — On a chilly night at PNC Park, the Pittsburgh Pirates’ standout pitcher, Paul Skenes, faced a tough outing against the St. Louis Cardinals, yielding a career-high five runs in a 5-3 defeat.
Skenes, who had shown exceptional form in his first two starts this season, struggled to find his rhythm this time around. The 22-year-old, who holds the title of the reigning National League Rookie of the Year, allowed six hits, walked one, and struck out seven. His ERA rose significantly, jumping from 1.46 to 3.44.
For the Cardinals, Victor Scott II starred with two hits, including a decisive two-run triple in the third inning. Brendan Donovan also contributed with two hits and followed Scott’s triple with an RBI single, cementing a 3-0 lead for St. Louis.
St. Louis pitcher Sonny Gray shone on the mound, effortlessly moving through five innings while giving up only one run and three hits. The sole blemish in his performance was a sinker that Pittsburgh’s Bryan Reynolds hit for his second home run of the season in the fourth inning.
The Cardinals widened their lead to 5-1 in the sixth inning with an RBI single from Alec Burleson and a run-scoring groundout by Pedro Pages. Phil Maton secured his first save by forcing Tommy Pham to line out to right field, concluding the game and marking only the second win for the Cardinals in their last eight games.
Despite the frigid game-time temperature of 38 degrees and the wind chill dropping into the 20s, Skenes looked poised for another strong performance after swiftly moving through the first two innings.
However, the third inning told a different story as three of the first four batters reached base, and all managed to score. In an uncharacteristic pattern, Skenes allowed 63 out of his 98 pitches to be strikes, leading to a more hittable night than usual.
Andrew McCutchen provided a late highlight for Pittsburgh, hitting a run-scoring groundout in the ninth inning, thus becoming the 221st player in major league history with 1,100 RBIs.
In a notable moment, Scott, an alumnus of West Virginia University located around an hour from PNC Park, thrilled the modest crowd of 8,291 with a soaring drive to the right-center gap, signaling Skenes’ uncharacteristic vulnerability.
A critical stat from the game: Skenes’ winless streak against the Cardinals, marked by a 0-3 record in his career.
The series is set to continue on Tuesday when Mitch Keller (1-1, 7.45 ERA) takes the mound for Pittsburgh against St. Louis right-hander Erick Fedde (1-1, 7.00).