Paul Skenes concern has vanished as Pirates' real problem gets worse

For the better part of two weeks, an unusual conversation had started to form around Paul Skenes.

The velocity was down a tick. The outings weren't lasting as long. Opponents were making more contact. For a pitcher who has spent most of his young career looking practically untouchable, a 5.85 ERA over four starts was enough to create at least some nervous chatter.

Tuesday night at PNC Park should put all of that to rest. Against a Los Angeles Dodgers lineup loaded with stars, Skenes delivered six innings of two-run baseball, struck out seven, generated 19 whiffs and recorded his first quality start since May 12. Most importantly, the fastball that had suddenly become a talking point looked dominant again.

Skenes threw his four-seamer 47% of the time, significantly above his season average. The pitch produced 12 whiffs by itself and gave him a weapon to attack hitters early in counts. The execution was sharper, the command was cleaner and the results followed.

Any concern surrounding Skenes now feels completely misplaced. But as soon as he walked off the mound with the game tied, the Pittsburgh Pirates once again reminded everyone why they're struggling to capitalize on having one of the best pitchers in baseball.

Wilber Dotel's ugly seventh inning will grab the headlines, but this isn't really about him. The 23-year-old rookie has been one of the Pirates' biggest success stories this season. Before Tuesday, he owned a 1.08 ERA through seven appearances while learning a role he had rarely occupied before reaching the major leagues.

Bad outings happen. Every reliever has them. The bigger issue is that a 23-year-old rookie pitching in a brand-new role was unquestionably Don Kelly's best bullpen option in a tie game against the Dodgers.

The Pirates have spent months searching internally for reliable late-inning answers and still haven't found them. Leads continue disappearing, tie games continue unraveling, and every close contest lately has felt like one mistake away from becoming a blowout. Tuesday followed that exact script.

After Dotel surrendered a double to Shohei Ohtani and a two-run homer to Andy Pages, the game spiraled. Defensive mistakes compounded the damage. Brandan Bidois walked three more hitters. What had been a tightly contested game instantly became a lopsided loss.

Pirates can't afford to keep ignoring bullpen problem after another wasted Paul Skenes start

The Pirates are now 6-8 in Skenes' starts this season. Since the beginning of 2025, they are just 23-23 when he takes the mound. Over that span, Skenes has posted a 1.97 ERA, won a Cy Young Award and established himself as one of baseball's premier pitchers. Yet the Pirates are exactly .500 when he starts. It's difficult to find a better illustration of organizational failure.

Elite aces are supposed to be force multipliers who elevate good teams into contenders and give average teams a chance every fifth day. Instead, the Pirates continue finding ways to waste some of the best pitching performances in baseball.

The offense deserves some blame, too. Pittsburgh has scored three runs or fewer in four consecutive games, all losses. Bryan Reynolds and Ryan O'Hearn supplied the only offense Tuesday with back-to-back home runs in the first inning. After that, the bats went quiet again. The bullpen can't consistently protect close games, and the offense isn't creating enough margin for error to compensate.

Any artificial concern surrounding Skenes disappeared Tuesday night. The real concern is the one that's been staring the Pirates in the face for weeks. Their bullpen isn't good enough. Their offense isn't doing enough. And unless those issues are addressed soon, they're going to keep wasting one of the greatest talents this franchise has ever developed.

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