Paul Skenes’ historic season-opening streak ends in Pirates' crushing loss to Brewers

The only way the Pittsburgh Pirates had a fighting chance against the MLB-leading Milwaukee Brewers on Tuesday was with Paul Skenes on the mound. Unfortunately, that chance disappeared almost instantly in what would turn out to be one of the Pirates' most embarrassing losses in recent memory (and that's not exactly a short list).

The Brewers got to Skenes right away, as Sal Frelick led off the bottom of the first inning with a home run to right field. In addition to being the second leadoff homer of Frelick's career, it was the first run surrendered by Skenes in the opening frame of a game this season.

Thus ended the Pirates ace's season-opening streak without a first-inning run at 24 games, the second-longest such streak in MLB history.

According to Elias Sports Bureau, the record for the most consecutive starts to begin a season without allowing a first-inning run belongs to Bob Shawkey (27 for the 1923 New York Yankees).

Paul Skenes’ historic season-opening streak ends in Pirates' crushing loss to Brewers

After Frelick's leadoff homer, things went from bad to worse for the Pirates. The next time he saw him, Skenes gave up a walk to Frelick, who later scored on William Contreras' double in the third inning.

Brice Turang hit a solo homer off Skenes with one out in the fourth inning to extend the Brewers’ lead to 3-0. It marked just the third time in 48 career starts that Skenes had allowed multiple home runs. The last such occurrence was on May 1 of this year, when he gave up three to the Chicago Cubs.

The Brewers chased Skenes after four innings, matching his shortest start of the season (which also happened to be against Milwaukee on June 25). By the end of the night, he had given up four runs on six hits, walked two and struck out four with 93 pitches.

Tuesday's loss was a sobering reminder of how the Pirates have been failed by their front office. Even a generational talent like Skenes is going to have the occasional off night, especially against the hottest team in the league. But at the end of the day, he only gave up four runs in what ended up being a 14-0 loss.

The Pirates' bats couldn't provide a single run of support, and the bullpen couldn't stop the bleeding. By now, it's a tale as old as time in Pittsburgh, and one that doesn't seem to have an ending as long as the current leadership structure remains in place.

More Pirates content from Rum Bunter