{"id":24590,"date":"2026-08-01T22:24:04","date_gmt":"2026-08-01T17:24:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=24590"},"modified":"2026-08-01T22:24:04","modified_gmt":"2026-08-01T17:24:04","slug":"paul-skenes-difficult-season-hits-new-low-with-sloppiest-outing-of-the-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=24590","title":{"rendered":"Paul Skenes\u2019 difficult season hits new low with \u2018sloppiest outing of the year\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div xmlns:default=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\">\n<p>Paul Skenes\u2019 ho-hum 2026 season took an ugly turn Friday night.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The reigning National League Cy Young winner allowed five runs on seven hits and a season-high four walks over just four innings in the Pirates\u2019 8-7 loss to the Reds at Great American Ball Park, an outing Skenes said was his \u201cstraight up the sloppiest\u201d of the season.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt took pretty much an inning to find my delivery, which happens. Usually it doesn\u2019t look that bad in the first inning,\u201d Skenes said. \u201cJust pretty sloppy all around.\u201d<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><button class=\"button button--modal-trigger\" aria-label=\"Open the image in a modal.\" data-modal-image=\"40153139\"><br \/>\n\t<default:svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"icon-plus\" fill=\"#fff\" viewbox=\"0 0 1033 1000\" width=\"1em\" height=\"1em\"><default:path d=\"M380 364V0h273v355h380v290H653v355H380V645H0V355h380v9z\"\/><\/default:svg><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<img style=\"aspect-ratio:1.49926794;display:block\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-modal-image=\"40153139\" width=\"885\" height=\"590\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2287795953.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"Paul Skenes #30 of the Pittsburgh Pirates throws a pitch during the first inning of the game against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park on July 31, 2026 in Cincinnati, Ohio.\" class=\"wp-image-40153139\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2287795953.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 6156w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2287795953.jpg?resize=300,200&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 300w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2287795953.jpg?resize=768,512&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 768w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2287795953.jpg?resize=1024,683&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 1024w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2287795953.jpg?resize=1536,1024&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 1536w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2287795953.jpg?resize=2048,1366&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 2048w, 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https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2287795953.jpg?resize=1200,800&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 1200w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2287795953.jpg?resize=1038,692&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 1038w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2287795953.jpg?resize=87,58&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 87w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/GettyImages-2287795953.jpg?resize=50,33&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 50w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 885px) 100vw, 885px\"\/><figcaption>Paul Skenes #30 of the Pittsburgh Pirates throws a pitch during the first inning of the game against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park on July 31, 2026 in Cincinnati, Ohio. <span class=\"credit\">Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cI think today was extreme. Today was just straight up the sloppiest outing of the year for me,\u201d Skenes continued. \u201cI think other than that, probably haven\u2019t been getting ahead in counts enough. You know, walking guys, giving up contact when I don\u2019t really want to be giving up contact at times.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It was the second straight clunker for Skenes, who allowed five earned runs over 5 \u2153 innings against the Cubs an outing earlier.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The latest start brought his season ERA to 3.90 \u2013 far from the Cy Young-caliber levels he flashed over his first two MLB campaigns.\u00a0<\/p>\n<aside class=\"single__inline-module aligncenter wp-block-nypost-editor-primary-tag\">\n<\/aside>\n<p>Even before Friday, Skenes, who posted an ERA below 2.00 in each of the past two seasons, hasn\u2019t seemed right.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Perhaps most concerning for Pirates fans has been Skenes\u2019 fastball velocity.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image aligncenter size-large\"><button class=\"button button--modal-trigger\" aria-label=\"Open the image in a modal.\" data-modal-image=\"40153214\"><br \/>\n\t<default:svg xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"icon-plus\" fill=\"#fff\" viewbox=\"0 0 1033 1000\" width=\"1em\" height=\"1em\"><default:path d=\"M380 364V0h273v355h380v290H653v355H380V645H0V355h380v9z\"\/><\/default:svg><br \/>\n<\/button><br \/>\n<img style=\"aspect-ratio:1.50146628;display:block\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-modal-image=\"40153214\" width=\"886\" height=\"590\" src=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/crop-40153145.jpg?w=1024\" alt=\"Paul Skenes #30 of the Pittsburgh Pirates looks on during the game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park on Friday, July 31, 2026 in Cincinnati, Ohio.\" class=\"wp-image-40153214\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/crop-40153145.jpg?quality=75&amp;strip=all 4000w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/crop-40153145.jpg?resize=300,200&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 300w, 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https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/crop-40153145.jpg?resize=322,215&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 322w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/crop-40153145.jpg?resize=662,441&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 662w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/crop-40153145.jpg?resize=90,60&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 90w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/crop-40153145.jpg?resize=120,80&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 120w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/crop-40153145.jpg?resize=1200,800&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 1200w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/crop-40153145.jpg?resize=1038,692&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 1038w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/crop-40153145.jpg?resize=87,58&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 87w, https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/crop-40153145.jpg?resize=50,33&amp;quality=75&amp;strip=all 50w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 886px) 100vw, 886px\"\/><figcaption>Paul Skenes #30 of the Pittsburgh Pirates looks on during the game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park on Friday, July 31, 2026 in Cincinnati, Ohio.  <span class=\"credit\">MLB Photos via Getty Images<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>Skenes\u2019 average four-seam fastball has dropped from 98.2 mph a year ago to 96.9 mph this season.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>It wasn\u2019t until Friday, though, that Skenes felt he wasn\u2019t pitching well.\u00a0<\/p>\n<figure class=\"wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-embed-handler wp-block-embed-embed-handler wp-embed-aspect-16-9 wp-has-aspect-ratio\">\n<p>\n<span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Everything We&amp;apos;re Hearing Ahead Of The Trade Deadline + Fan Questions! | The Show Ep. 211\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/lDeHdOOuUJY?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/span>\n<\/p>\n<\/figure>\n<p>\u201cUp until today, I think I\u2019ve viewed the past month or so as me throwing the ball pretty well even though it doesn\u2019t look like it at all, really. The month as a whole I don\u2019t think has been terrible. Today was pretty terrible,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c\u2026It\u2019s been an interesting year, a little bit. But, it could be a lot worse. We\u2019ll figure it out. I\u2019m going to figure it out. But it could be a lot worse.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Paul Skenes\u2019 ho-hum 2026 season took an ugly turn Friday night.\u00a0 The reigning National League Cy Young winner allowed five runs on seven hits and a season-high four walks over just four innings in the Pirates\u2019 8-7 loss to the Reds at Great American Ball Park, an outing Skenes said was his \u201cstraight up the&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":24591,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/nypost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/08\/newspress-collage-2la0eydix-1785602229762.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&1785587855&w=1200","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-24590","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pics-news"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24590","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=24590"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/24590\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/24591"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=24590"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=24590"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=24590"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}