Pirates wanted more from Paul Skenes, but his 2026 exit couldn’t have been scripted better

Paul Skenes’ 2026 season did not go the way anyone envisioned. But his final moment somehow did.

With the Pittsburgh Pirates and St. Louis Cardinals tied 1-1 in the seventh inning Thursday at PNC Park, Skenes returned to the mound at 95 pitches with one final milestone sitting directly in front of him:

Strikeout No. 200.

Don Kelly gave him one more batter. Skenes struck out Leo Bernal. Then he walked off the mound to one of the loudest ovations of the afternoon.

Kelly was greeted considerably less warmly when he came out to remove him, with Pirates fans booing the decision to end Skenes’ season after 96 pitches. Considering the circumstances, though, it was difficult to imagine a more appropriate ending.

Skenes finished his final start with 6 1/3 innings, three hits, one earned run, two walks and eight strikeouts. More importantly, his final batter of 2026 became his 200th strikeout of the season.

For a year filled with frustration, questions and stretches where Skenes simply did not look like the overwhelming force Pittsburgh had grown accustomed to seeing, it was a remarkably clean final image.

Paul Skenes ends tumultuous 2026 season on a high note, reminding Pirates fans why expectations remain high

Skenes ends the season 10-11 with a 3.82 ERA and 200 strikeouts across 174 1/3 innings. But those numbers require some perspective.

For most pitchers, a 3.82 ERA with 200 strikeouts would qualify as an excellent season. Skenes has created a different standard for himself. After establishing himself as one of baseball’s most dominant pitchers almost immediately upon reaching the majors, anything short of Cy Young-caliber dominance was always going to feel like a regression.

There were stretches this season where his velocity fluctuated. There were starts where hitters did considerably more damage against him than Pirates fans were accustomed to seeing. There were periods when Pittsburgh desperately needed its ace to stop a slide and Skenes could not always do it.

And yet, he still reached 200 strikeouts. That's what made Thursday’s exit such a fitting conclusion.

Kelly easily could have ended Skenes’ afternoon after six innings. Instead, he sent him back out knowing exactly what was at stake and gave his ace the opportunity to finish the season on his own terms. Skenes took advantage.

Pirates fans naturally wanted more. They almost always do when Skenes is pitching, and hearing boos as Kelly walked toward the mound was entirely predictable. But there was little left for Skenes to accomplish Thursday.

Pittsburgh’s postseason hopes are already gone. There was no reason to squeeze another inning out of the arm the franchise intends to build around for years. Skenes had reached his milestone. And after a season defined far too often by conversations about what went wrong, the Pirates finally got one Skenes moment that required no qualification whatsoever.

He entered the seventh needing one strikeout. He got it. Then he walked off to an ovation. For a complicated season, that was about as perfect an ending as the Pirates could have drawn up.

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