Paul Skenes allowed one earned run over six innings but did not get a decision. Michael A. Taylor hit a three-run home run in the ninth inning off Josh Hader, leading the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 6-3 win against the Houston Astros on Monday night.
Skenes lowered his ERA from 1.93 to 1.90, giving up two runs, five hits, and three walks, while striking out six batters. With 103 strikeouts in his first 13 starts, he trails only Hideo Nomo (119), Kerry Wood (118), Herb Score (107), and Jose DeLeon (106), while tying Masahiro Tanaka.
Skenes’ streak of nine starts with seven or more strikeouts ended, which was tied with Dwight Gooden (1984) and Brandon Beachy (2011) for the most among rookies, according to the Elias Sports Bureau.
Skenes averaged 98.5 mph with his fastball, which was 0.6 mph slower than his season average, and he did not reach 100 mph. He threw 34 splitters, 28 fastballs, 28 sliders, eight curveballs, and three changeups, getting 16 swings and misses, up from 11 in his first start after the All-Star break.
“I thought it was terrible,” Skenes said about his slider. “I wasn’t executing, and frankly, got lucky. I was trying to find it.”
Houston took a 2-0 lead in the fifth inning after loading the bases with a single by Jon Singleton, a walk by Jake Meyers, and a hit-by-pitch on Victor Caratini.
Jose Altuve hit what seemed like a potential inning-ending double-play grounder, but the ball glanced off the glove of Gold Glove third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes for an error, allowing two runs to score.
Yasmani Grandal homered in the sixth inning off Kaleb Ort, and Oneil Cruz hit a tying double in the eighth inning off Ryan Pressly, a 119.3 mph drive that bounced to the right-field wall. Pressly had entered with 15 consecutive scoreless innings.
