Gameday 51: Paul Skenes on the mound as Pirates look to take series against Giants

Pirates have split first two of series, with Paul Skenes on the mound for the finale

May 23, 2024

The Pirates went into the eighth inning with a two-run lead. The bullpen blew another game due to the inability to throw strikes, and they now head into game three of their set against the Giants tied at a game apiece.

Jared Jones allowed three earned runs on six hits and three walks while striking out five across innings pitched.

Bryan Reynolds hit a grand slam in the fourth inning, his sixth home run of the season, with Andrew McCutchen driving in the other run.

In the series finale, Paul Skenes will get the start for the Pirates, the third of his major league career. He struck out 11 Chicago Cubs in six no-hit innings his last time on the mound.

The game is expected to start at 12:35 pm ET.

Pirates Lineup

DH - Andrew McCutchen

LF - Bryan Reynolds

RF - Connor Joe

SS - Oneil Cruz

2B - Nick Gonzales

3B - Jared Triolo

1B - Rowdy Tellez

C - Joey Bart

CF - Ji-Hwan Bae

Giants Lineup

CF - Luis Matos

1B - LaMonte Wade Jr.

2B - Thairo Estrada

3B - Matt Chapman

DH - Jorge Soler

RF - Mike Yastrzemski

LF - Heliot Ramos

C - Curt Casali

SS - Brett Wisely

Pitching Matchup

PIT - Paul Skenes (1-0, 2.70 ERA, 10 IP, 3 BB, 18 K)

SF - Erik Miller (0-2, 4.50, 22 IP, 14 BB, 28 K)

Yesterday’s Feature

Michael Kennedy is embracing the challenge of having success with his fastball, despite not having the traditional velocity with it.

Bucs On Deck

Michael Kennedy embraces challenge of throwing a 'lower-velocity' fastball

For better or worse, velocity is a huge part of baseball right now. Everyone strives to throw as hard as possible while on the mound to strike out as many hitters as possible. There’s so much focus on it at times that players can often get overlooked if they don’t throw a certain velocity…

6 months ago · 6 likes · 5 comments · Anthony Murphy

Today’s Feature

Nick Gonzales was the first draft pick of the Ben Cherington era. He’s struggled with the strikeouts early in his professional career, but has cut back this season. Since coming back up to the Pirates, he’s been almost exactly what the numbers would suggest, which may not be the worst of things now.

Bucs On Deck

Nick Gonzales has been hitting, but has anything changed?

Few players in the minors this season, Pirates’ system or not, got off to a better start than Nick Gonzales. Starting the year with Triple-A Indianapolis, the former first-round pick Gonzales was among the league leaders in most offensive categories in the International League…

6 months ago · Anthony Murphy

Support the site by becoming a paid member, and get access to all of our premium content, including our Top 25 list with complete player write-ups and my video breakdowns, which come out weekly.

It will also give access to my player feature articles from on-site trips.

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7 months ago · 5 likes · Anthony Murphy

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