Skenes helps Pirates snap 4-game losing skid

Paul Skenes threw seven strong innings as Pittsburgh beat Tampa Bay, 4-2.

Looking to snap a four-game losing streak, the Pittsburgh Pirates needed Paul Skenes to stand tall and serve as the stopper.

The 6-6 right-hander didn’t shrink.

Skenes delivered a quality start that was more efficient than dominant, recording six strikeouts without a walk in seven innings and rallying from 3-0 counts to fan the final two batters he faced.

“When you’re not playing well and things are going tough, that’s what you expect to happen,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said on the SportsNet Pittsburgh postgame show. “And he stepped up and did it.”

Oneil Cruz provided run support by hitting his second home run and adding a sacrifice fly, and Dennis Santana got the save for the Pirates in a 4-2 win over the Tampa Bay Rays on Wednesday afternoon at George M. Steinbrenner Field.

It was a much-needed win for the Pirates (2-5), who return to Pittsburgh after nearly two months in Florida. They are off Thursday, then face the New York Yankees at 4:12 p.m. Friday in the home opener at PNC Park.

And the Pirates welcomed a deep start by Skenes (1-0), who threw 72 of his 102 pitches for strikes and never needed more than 18 pitches in any of his seven innings. He relied heavily on his four-seam fastball, which averaged 98 mph and topped out at 99.6 on 48 pitches, drawing seven whiffs and 12 fouls on 27 swings along with 10 called strikes.

It marked the fifth time in 25 career starts that Skenes pitched seven or more innings and the 10th time he’s topped 100 pitches. He allowed three hits and one unearned run.

“I’ve got to do that more often,” Skenes said. “It was efficient. We were getting quick outs, getting ahead in counts. We built some momentum, and we’ve got to keep it going.”

The Pirates got a leadoff triple by Ke’Bryan Hayes in the second inning, only for him to be caught between third base and home plate on Isiah Kiner- Falefa’s roller to the mound. But Jared Triolo drew a fourpitch walk and scored from second on Adam Frazier’s single to right for a 1-0 lead.

Cruz sent Ryan Pepiot’s 2-2 changeup 391 feet to left-center, over the glove of Jake Magnum and off the top of the wall for a solo home run to give the Pirates a 2-0 lead in the fifth.

Skenes kept the Rays scoreless through five innings before Jonny DeLuca led off the sixth with a single to short, advanced to second on a throwing error by Kiner-Falefa and scored on a groundout to second by Brandon Lowe to cut it to 2-1.

Skenes got into 3-0 counts against the final two batters he faced in the seventh, but he rallied to strike out Jonathan Aranda with a splinker and Jose Caballero on a 98-mph heater to finish his outing.

“That’s what having that elite fastball that not a lot of guys have in the game, that you’re able to go back and get that pitch at 102,” Shelton said. “That’s what makes Paul Skenes special.”

The Pirates padded their lead in the eighth when Endy Rodriguez hit a two-out single to right to drive in Tommy Pham for a 3-1 lead for what proved to be the game-winning RBI.

Colin Holderman replaced Skenes but gave up a leadoff walk to Taylor Walls, who advanced to second on a groundout, reached third on a wild pitch and scored on DeLuca’s single to left to make it a onerun game again.

After Holderman struck out Yandy Diaz, the Pirates turned to lefty Ryan Borucki to face the left handed-hitting Lowe. Rays manager Kevin Cash countered by sending in righty Curtis Mead to pinch hit, only for Borucki to get Mead looking at a called third strike on a 2-2 sweeper at the bottom of the strike zone to protect the lead.

“It was a big spot,” Shelton said. “I’ll tell you what: Kevin shocked me there. I did not see him hitting for Lowe. Borucki came in and did a good job, was able to execute pitches, threw the breaking balls. He’s been sharp during the early going this season.”

The Pirates added an insurance run in the ninth against Edwin Uceta, who opened the inning by hitting Kiner-Falefa with a pitch. Frazier followed with a single and Bryan Reynolds a grounder to advance Kiner-Falefa, who scored on a sacrifice fly to center by Cruz.

That made it 4-2 and provided the first save situation since two-time All-Star closer David Bednar was demoted to Triple- A Indianapolis. With two outs in the ninth, Aranda won a 10-pitch battle with Santana by drawing a full-count walk on a slider outside. Santana recovered to get pinch-hitter Christopher Morel to fly out to right to earn his first save of the season.

“It’s huge,” Borucki said. “Losing Bednar, obviously, hurts because that’s usually his spot. We’ve been in a next-man-up mentality down there. I’ve said it before: Any of those seven or eight guys down there can close games. … It was really just sprung by what Paul did. When he can go seven innings and you only have to cover two, it makes it a lot easier. Kudos to him and the boys got it done down there.”

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