For just the second time this season, Paul Skenes allowed an earned run. In fact, the Pirates top prospect allowed two, one coming from a solo homer, the first he has allowed in seven starts this year.

While he wasn’t as dominant as usual, Skenes was fine overall, allowing the two runs, both earned, off three hits and a pair of walks in 4 ⅓ innings of work Sunday afternoon against the Buffalo Bisons, the Triple-A affiliate of the Toronto Blue Jays. The outing was nowhere near as good as his last, where he tossed six scoreless frames and reached a career best pitch count (75). But even in his worst start of the season, last year’s top pick showed plenty of encouraging signs.

After allowing a run off two hits and a walk in the first inning, Skenes responded with back-to-back prefect frames in the second and third. Following a walk to start the fourth, he recorded a strikeout then came away with a double-play ball to get through the frame with just nine pitches.

Skenes was pulled with one out and no runners on in the top of the fifth inning. His 66 pitches were less than what he threw in each of his past two starts. The 21-year old right-hander tallied four strikeouts, two from his splitter, one from his changeup and one from his slider. His fastball, which he threw 31 times (47% of his pitches), averaged 99.3 mph and topped out at 101 mph.

With seven starts under his belt, Skenes has allowed just three earned runs in 27 ⅓ total innings (0.99 ERA). He has allowed 17 hits, struck out 45 batters and walked just eight.

Those dominant numbers have some calling for Skenes to make his next start in the major leagues. However, despite a heavy appetite for Skenes from fans, Pirates general manager Ben Cherington was unwilling to reveal much information about the young pitcher’s big league timeline Sunday afternoon on his radio show. Skenes’ next outing is scheduled for Friday, May 10, a day that the Pirates will host the Cubs at PNC Park.

In the mean time, Sunday’s start marked the first time Skenes had professionally pitched on four days of rest, another noteworthy hurdle Cherington wanted to see him encounter.

“He's been checking just about every box since the season started and responding incredibly well,” Cherington said.

_____

©2024 PG Publishing Co. Visit at post-gazette.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.