Pittsburgh Pirates at Cincinnati Reds
· Major League Baseball2 - 0
Paul Skenes strikes out 9 and pitches 2-hit ball through 5 innings as Pirates stop Reds 2-0
Skenes (11-3) recorded his 16th game with seven or more strikeouts, surpassing Larry McWilliams (1983) for seventh-most by a Pirates starter in a season.
“He's special,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “He continues to evolve. I mean the change-up today was elite. You don't see a guy in his rookie year be able to throw multiple weapons at you and continue to get better.”
In three starts against the Reds, the 22-year-old right-hander has allowed one earned run with 25 strikeouts in 17 innings.
“He (Skenes) dominated really," Reds manager David Bell said. "He had a really good change-up. It is kind of the growth from the last time we faced him. That pitch was a difference maker for him today.”
Skenes lowered his ERA to 1.99 on Sunday, the second-lowest through 22 career starts behind Steve Roger’s 1.95 ERA in 1973-74 with the Montreal Expos.
“He’s got a lot of pitches and throws them for strikes,” Reds first baseman Ty France said. “He throws them where he wants, when he wants.”
Shelton said Skenes was aware that five innings was his limit on Sunday. His 73 pitches were a season-low through five innings.
“That’s something I needed to be better at the entire year," Skenes said. “I’m glad that it happened that way today, just better execution in counts.”
Oneil Cruz hit his 21st homer in the first inning and Nick Yorke’s first career homer off Fernando Cruz in the fifth inning gave the Pirates a two-run lead. Pittsburgh won by shutout for the 12th time this season.
Hunter Greene (9-5) made his first start since having his season interrupted by right elbow soreness in mid-August. He pitched three innings and allowed a run on two hits with four strikeouts.
The Reds lost by shutout for the 14th time this season and for the second time when Skenes started.
“Obviously, the third time seeing them, you gotta get them out in different ways than you have in the past," Skenes said. “We did a good job adjusting to that today.”
Former Reds closer Aroldis Chapman stuck out two batters in the ninth and earned his 11th save.
UP NEXT
Pirates: LHP Bailey Falter (8-8, 4.15 ERA) will face the Milwaukee Brewers in the opener of a three-game series on Tuesday.
Reds: RHP Jakob Junis (4-0, 2.61) will face the Cleveland Guardians in the first of a two-game set on Tuesday.
How can I watch Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Cincinnati Reds?
- TV Channel: Pirates at Reds 2022 MLB Baseball, is broadcasted on MLB.TV.
- Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.
Matchup Prediction
Scoring Summary
9th Inning | Stephenson grounded out to shortstop. | |
9th Inning | De La Cruz struck out swinging. | |
9th Inning | India struck out looking. | |
9th Inning | Chapman relieved Santana | |
9th Inning | Cruz grounded out to first. | |
9th Inning | N. Gonzales walked. |
Statistics
PIT | CIN | |
---|---|---|
1 | Games Played | 1 |
1 | Team Games Played | 1 |
0 | Hit By Pitch | 1 |
5 | Ground Balls | 6 |
14 | Strikeouts | 13 |
2 | Runs Batted In | 0 |
0 | Sacrifice Hit | 0 |
7 | Hits | 3 |
1 | Stolen Bases | 0 |
5 | Walks | 1 |
0 | Catcher Interference | 0 |
2 | Runs | 0 |
0 | Ground Into Double Play | 1 |
0 | Sacrifice Flies | 0 |
33 | At Bats | 28 |
2 | Home Runs | 0 |
0 | Grand Slam Home Runs | 0 |
17 | Runners Left On Base | 10 |
0 | Triples | 0 |
1 | Game Winning RBIs | 0 |
0 | Intentional Walks | 0 |
0 | Doubles | 0 |
14 | Fly Balls | 9 |
1 | Caught Stealing | 1 |
163 | Pitches | 126 |
0 | Games Started | 0 |
0 | Pinch At Bats | 0 |
0 | Pinch Hits | 0 |
0.0 | Player Rating | 0.0 |
1 | Is Qualified | 1 |
1 | Is Qualified In Steals | 1 |
13 | Total Bases | 3 |
38 | Plate Appearances | 30 |
324.0 | Projected Home Runs | 0.0 |
2 | Extra Base Hits | 0 |
4.2 | Runs Created | -1.1 |
.212 | Batting Average | .107 |
.000 | Pinch Hit Average | .000 |
.394 | Slugging Percentage | .107 |
.333 | Secondary Average | .000 |
.316 | On Base Percentage | .167 |
.710 | OBP Pct + SLG Pct | .274 |
0.4 | Ground To Fly Ball Ratio | 0.7 |
4.2 | Runs Created Per 27 Outs | -1.1 |
22.0 | Batter Rating | 3.0 |
16.5 | At Bats Per Home Run | 0.0 |
0.50 | Stolen Base Percentage | 0.00 |
4.29 | Pitches Per Plate Appearance | 4.20 |
.182 | Isolated Power | .000 |
0.36 | Walk To Strikeout Ratio | 0.08 |
.132 | Walks Per Plate Appearance | .033 |
.121 | Secondary Average Minus Batting Average | -.107 |
4.0 | Runs Produced | 0.0 |
1.0 | Runs Ratio | 0.0 |
0.5 | Patience Ratio | 0.2 |
0.3 | Balls In Play Average | 0.2 |
74.3 | MLB Rating | 55.8 |
0.0 | Offensive Wins Above Replacement | 0.0 |
0.0 | Wins Above Replacement | 0.0 |
Game Information
Location: Cincinnati, Ohio
Attendance: 34,750 | Capacity:
2024 National League Central Standings
TEAM | W | L | PCT | GB | STRK |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Milwaukee | 93 | 69 | .574 | - | L1 |
St. Louis | 83 | 79 | .512 | 10 | W1 |
Chicago | 83 | 79 | .512 | 10 | L1 |
Cincinnati | 77 | 85 | .475 | 16 | W1 |
Pittsburgh | 76 | 86 | .469 | 17 | L1 |