May 23, 2025; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Paul Skenes (30) pitches against the Milwaukee Brewers during the second inning at PNC Park. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images Charles LeClaire
It appears that the Phillies will get another glimpse of baseball's most electric — and unlucky — pitcher this weekend.
Looking past their currently ongoing series against the Toronto Blue Jays, the Phillies' next opponent is the Pittsburgh Pirates. The Phils are likely to once again face Paul Skenes, who continues to post absurdly good stat lines... while his team continues to lose in absurd fashion.
The reigning NL Rookie of the Year is having one of the strangest pitching seasons in recent memory. In the month of May, Skenes posted a 1.91 ERA through six starts, striking out 38 batters through 37 2/3 innings of work. He held opposing batters to a .184 batting average and allowed just eight earned runs.
And he still went 1-3.
Skenes made the wrong kind of history Tuesday, through no fault of his own. He shoved against the Houston Astros, throwing eight innings of three-hit, one-run ball. He struck out eight batters. He picked up the loss.
Justin Havens of Underdog Fantasy put things in perspective with this nugget:
Paul Skenes is the first pitcher since Pedro Martinez in 2000 to lose two starts in a season with these stats:
◽️ 8+ IP
◽️ 1 or 0 R
◽️ 1 or 0 BB
◽️ 8+ K
H/T @jayhaykid pic.twitter.com/CRe03a3eaO
Lord.
One of those excellent starts came on Tuesday. The other, as you may recall, came May 18 against the Phillies. Skenes threw the first complete game of his career in Philly. He posted an eerily similar stat line to Tuesday's: eight innings, three hits, one run and nine strikeouts. The Pirates' offense was shut out in Mick Abel's MLB debut and lost 1-0.
Here are the final scores of Skenes' six (!) losses so far this season:
Six games. Seven runs scored by the Pirates.
At a certain point, it becomes organizational malpractice. The Pirates have one of the best (if not the best) young pitchers that the sport has seen this century, and they are wasting him. It's unfair to Skenes, and it's unfair to Pirates fans, who can't do anything but sit back and watch a generational talent slip through their fingers in large part because their ownership refuses to spend to build a team around him.
Nevertheless, the Phils are likely to face Skenes Sunday in Pittsburgh. Skenes actually has a 3.08 ERA in home games, as opposed to a 1.19 ERA in away games. Maybe he wants out of Pittsburgh just as much as everyone else wants him out of Pittsburgh.
Depending on when Zack Wheeler's fourth baby is born, the Phillies could possibly insert him back into the rotation this weekend. Skenes-Wheeler would be a pitchers' duel for the ages, so that's something to watch for.
