Paul Skenes gem couldn't hide a concerning Pirates pitching problem

Paul Skenes gave the Pittsburgh Pirates exactly what they needed Sunday. He also provided a reminder of why they needed it so badly.

In his first start after the All-Star break, Skenes allowed seven hits and two walks while striking out eight in the Pirates' 7-1 win over the Cleveland Guardians. His fastball was particularly dominant, generating 15 whiffs on 39 swings and accounting for five of his eight strikeouts.

With seven runs of support and some exceptional defense behind him, Skenes was able to settle in and give Pittsburgh length, working seven-plus innings for the first time since May 12 and lowering his season ERA to 3.43.

For the Pirates, it couldn't have come at a better time. But as encouraging as Skenes' performance was, it also highlighted one of Pittsburgh's more concerning pitching trends.

Before Sunday, no Pirates starting pitcher had completed seven innings since May 21. That's nearly two full months without a starter recording an out in the eighth inning. For a team trying to stay in the postseason race, that's simply too long — especially when the bullpen is already the weakest area of the roster.

Paul Skenes pitched deep vs Guardians, gave struggling Pirates bullpen a much-needed breather

Pittsburgh has plenty of talent in its rotation. Skenes headlines the group, while Jared Jones has been dominant and efficient in recent outings. Braxton Ashcraft has established himself as a reliable frontline starter this season, and Bubba Chandler gives the Pirates another talented young arm.

But quality starts aren't always enough. Six innings and three runs might look perfectly respectable in the box score, but when that becomes the ceiling night after night, the final nine outs constantly fall on the bullpen. Over the course of a long season, those innings add up.

The Pirates saw the consequences as recently as Saturday. With a doubleheader forcing Pittsburgh to cover 18 innings in one day, the bullpen was tested extensively. In the second game, Gregory Soto couldn't handle the unfair assignment of securing a five-out save and Dennis Santana surrendered a walk-off home run as the Pirates fell 5-3.

That loss isn't solely the bullpen's fault, of course. Khristian Curtis delivered five scoreless innings in his major league debut after entering in relief, and the offense didn't do enough to put the game away. Still, Pittsburgh's margin for error late in games becomes much smaller when the same relievers are repeatedly asked to cover multiple innings every series.

That's why Skenes going deep Sunday mattered beyond simply securing a series victory. The Pirates needed their ace to give the bullpen a break, and he did. The concern is that it shouldn't require a Skenes gem to make that happen.

Pittsburgh's starters don't need to pitch into the eighth inning every night. That's unrealistic in modern baseball, particularly with a young rotation whose workloads the organization understandably wants to manage. But there's a difference between protecting young pitchers and consistently asking the bullpen to record nine or more outs. The Pirates need to find a better balance.

For a team whose bullpen already needs reinforcement ahead of the trade deadline, consistently short starts only magnify the problem. Pittsburgh can — and almost certainly should — add another reliever. But even the best deadline acquisition won't completely solve a bullpen that is routinely asked to carry too much of the pitching workload.

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