Paul Skenes wobbled through another start for the Pittsburgh Pirates against the Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday, Aug. 5, putting a sharp focus on the rotation as the biggest source of question marks for the team following the MLB trade deadline.
Yes, the bullpen still needs to earn trust amid 20 blown saves this season, but GM Ben Cherington addressed it meaningfully with deals for veteran relievers Luke Weaver, Camilo Doval, Kirby Yates and Lake Bachar this week.
Concerns about the offense are valid as well. Injuries to outfielder Oneil Cruz, first baseman/outfielder Ryan O’Hearn and shortstop Konnor Griffin will inevitably slow down an offense that enters Thursday ranked first in hits and third in runs scored across MLB this season. Cruz and O'Hearn
have combined for 31 homers this season.
Skenes, however, is the reigning Cy Young winner in the National League, and manager Don Kelly’s starters were supposed to be the foundation of his team’s success. And yet, consistency has been hard to find in recent weeks.
The 24-year-old ace had a 6.25 ERA in July and has allowed at least three earned runs in each of his last four starts while failing to get out of the sixth inning in any of them. On Wednesday, he walked four and reached nine three-ball counts. The Cy Young-caliber efficiency was not there, even as he escaped the night without any catastrophic damage.
“I thought it was pretty good, outside of the fourth inning,” Skenes told reporters afterward. “Probably need to get ahead in counts a little more, just overall. … I mean, you can’t walk guys.”
Adding pressure for Skenes is the reality that he’s not the only issue within the group. Earlier in the week, veteran Mitch Keller was placed on the 60-day injured list with a teres major muscle injury in his right arm. The previously reliable innings eater ends the season with a 5.29 ERA and a concerning drop to a career-low 6.9 strikeouts per nine innings.
All-Star Braxton Ashcraft was even worse than Skenes in July, pitching to a 7.78 ERA. He took a promising step with a win against the Cincinnati Reds on Aug. 1, in which he allowed just a run on two hits in five innings. Still, it’s hard to know what to expect from him down the stretch of his first full season and an MLB starter.
The story is similar for Jared Jones and Bubba Chandler in the back end. The former has been the most reliable of the group lately with a 2.00 ERA in August and three starts of at least six innings in his last five outings. The Pirates have been cautious with him, though, after he lost all of 2025 and some of 2026 to elbow surgery.
Chandler, meanwhile, has gotten out of the sixth just once since the start of July as walks continue to pile up. His ERA sits at 4.49 for the season.
None of it portends well for a team that’s now 4.5 games out of the final wild-card spot in the National League after a loss in a rare national television appearance against the Brewers. Skenes and Co. will have to show an ability to course correct, especially if the injuries begin to take a noticeable toll on the offense.
There’s also the matter of replacing Keller in the rotation. Long reliever Carmen Mlodzinski is the likely candidate after starting the year among the team’s top five starters. He pitched to a 3.76 ERA through May before being demoted to the bullpen upon Jones’ return to action.
Fans have clamored for his return ever since as he’s kept his ERA under 3.00 throughout June, July and August, albeit in mostly lower-leverage innings of long relief. It appears they’ll now get their wish to see if he can help Skenes and Co. stop the proverbial bleeding down the stretch.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Pirates need more from Paul Skenes, rotation to make MLB postseason push
