Pirates' Paul Skenes Joins Elite Pitching Group With Historic Start

Paul Skenes, the Pittsburgh Pirates' standout pitcher and last year's NL Rookie of the Year, has continued to demonstrate exceptional performance despite the team's overall struggles in the 2025 season. He recently delivered a dominant outing against the Arizona Diamondbacks, pitching 6.2 scoreless innings with seven strikeouts, which earned him his first win in over a month and helped the Pirates secure a 10-1 victory. Skenes holds impressive season stats, including a 2.15 ERA, 77 strikeouts, and a .187 opposing batting average, ranking him among the MLB leaders in several pitching categories. The Pirates have made several lineup adjustments around him, including the return of players like Oneil Cruz and Henry Davis, who has shown some recent improvement at the plate with veteran Adam Frazier's help. Despite rumors, the Pirates reportedly have no plans to trade Skenes, who is under team control through 2029 and is already placing himself among historic pitching company early in his career. While the Pirates remain near the bottom of their division, Skenes' performance provides a bright spot and a potential cornerstone for the franchise's future.