Rookie Paul Skenes experienced his first loss in 12 starts in the major leagues when Alec Burleson’s single in the ninth inning propelled the St. Louis Cardinals to a 2-1 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Tuesday night.
Skenes, who last pitched in the All-Star Game for the National League, went beyond the seventh inning for the first time in his major league career but couldn’t secure the win, marking his first defeat in 24 professional appearances.
The game saw Nolan Arenado give the Cardinals the lead with a home run in the fifth inning, while Nick Gonzales tied it up with an RBI single in the eighth off JoJo Romero.
Despite throwing 91 pitches through eight innings, Pirates manager Derek Shelton opted to keep Skenes on the mound for the ninth. The crowd of 32,422 cheered as Skenes took to the field.
The Pirates’ Michael Siani doubled leading off the inning and later scored on Burleson’s hit, which came on Skenes’ final pitch of the game. Skenes, reflecting on his performance, mentioned feeling good throughout the game but noted the challenge of managing longer innings earlier in his starts.
Overall, Skenes finished with eight strikeouts and no walks, allowing four hits over 8 1/3 innings. His ERA rose slightly to 1.93 from 1.90, and he set a team record with seven or more strikeouts in nine consecutive starts.
