Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes is having another great season for his team and is the main reason the team is still exciting to watch down the stretch.
However, the Pirates may be close to shutting down Skenes sometime in the next few weeks. MLB.com writer Will Leitch dove deeper into Skenes’ workload for the season.
“The Pirates have said they’d like to “limit” Paul Skenes to fewer than 200 innings — kind of funny to think of 200 innings being a “limit,” considering only four pitchers reached
that number last year — which means, since he’s currently at 148, he’s either going to pitch no more than six innings a game the rest of the way (which he has pretty much been doing all year) or skip his final start or two. Even with his last rough start against the Brewers, Skenes is a gift to watch … but it’s time for the innings to start getting a little scarce,“ Leitch wrote.
Skenes last pitched on Tuesday against the Milwaukee Brewers in one of his poorest starts of the year, lasting just four innings while giving up four earned runs in the Pirates’ 14-0 loss. Granted, the Brewers swept the Pirates as part of their 14-game losing streak that was just broken on Sunday against the Cincinnati Reds.
With 37 games left in Pittsburgh’s season, Skenes is due to start about six or seven more times in the rotation. However, the Pirates could skip a start or two of his to give someone in the minor leagues a chance to pitch for the big league club before the season comes to an end.
Skenes is on the mound tonight for the Pirates as they face the AL East leader Toronto Blue Jays. First pitch is scheduled for 6:40 p.m. EST inside PNC Park.
