Pirates club 5 homers in win vs. Yankees

NEW YORK — It may have been the shortest start of his young career, but Paul Skenes more than put the finishing touches on a splendid rookie season.

The Pirates right-hander struck out three Yankees hitters, including superstars Juan Soto and Aaron Judge, in two scoreless innings en route to a 9-4 win on a blustery, damp Saturday afternoon at Yankee Stadium.

"Definitely glad to be able to finish the season and able to do it here,” Skenes said. “Cool to do it against this lineup. So wish I could keep going, but that's where we're at."

Manager Derek Shelton said the coaching staff met with Skenes in St. Louis to inform the 22-year-old he had seven innings remaining in his season — five against the Reds last Sunday and a couple more against the Yankees. The goal, depending on how his season went, was to get Skenes between 155 and 165 innings, Shelton said.

Skenes ultimately racked up 160 1/3 combined innings between Triple-A Indianapolis and MLB, requiring his starts be closely monitored in the spring and the fall. Even so, Skenes doesn’t think the workload plan the Pirates put together could have gone much better.

"We got right to where the innings threshold was,” Skenes said. “Frustrating first couple of months, but glad to be able to do what I did this year."

All Skenes did with a couple of scoreless frames was lower his ERA to 1.96. He became the fourth pitcher in MLB history to finish a season with a sub-2.00 ERA while averaging 11 or more strikeouts per nine innings, according to StatsPerform. In 133 MLB innings, Skenes had 170 strikeouts against just 32 walks.

Skenes also became the first rookie pitcher to record at least 23 starts with a sub-2.00 ERA in a single season since Scott Perry in 1918, per STATS. Not to mention, Skenes set a new franchise record, as opponents posted only a .198 batting average against the hurler, lowest by a Pirates starter all-time.

Reflecting on his year, Skenes said he didn’t have a ton of expectations. Regardless, it was a masterful campaign.

"I don't know what else I could have done,” Skenes said. “But definitely happy with how this season went."

Now, all eyes turn to whether Skenes’ stupendous season, which included an 11-3 record, will be enough for him to take home the National League’s Rookie of the Year award or whether that honor will go to the likes of the Padres’ Jackson Merrill or Brewers’ Jackson Chourio. Shelton has previously shared his support for Skenes, and the phenom is amply aware of his worth, too.

"Yeah, I think I belong in that conversation,” Skenes said. “I haven't thought about it a ton. But I'll think about it in the next few weeks, I guess.

“But haven't thought about it a ton. I think the focus has been on to finish the season strong and go out there and execute."

For one final time this season, albeit in a brief sample size, Skenes did more than execute — he quite simply dominated. The focus for 2025, Skenes said, is for the Pirates to improve upon their current win total (76) that mirrors that of the 2023 campaign.

Though the Pirates have twice topped the Yankees this weekend, their opponents will be the ones in the postseason — not the club with a pitcher prized as much as anybody in the game.

"I think that's one thing about being in Yankee Stadium — they clinched the night before we came here,” Skenes said. “They clinched while we got here the night before the series started.

“So a lot to build off of for next year. But yeah, just gotta win."

On the mound

Once Skenes departed, Shelton gave the ball to a different rookie right-hander in Mike Burrows, who made his MLB debut in the third inning. Burrows said it was everything he could have dreamed of.

“To be in Yankee Stadium, to get a win, to get a punchout, I just got a bit of everything,” Burrows said. “That was awesome."

Until the fifth, Burrows was able to preserve Skenes’ no-hitter bid, but those hopes dissipated thanks to Jazz Chisholm Jr.

The former Marlin smacked his 24th home run of the season, a no-doubt blast down the right-field line on a curveball from Burrows that caught too much of the plate. Burrows otherwise did a solid job of establishing his four-seam fastball and dealing his other offerings from there, though he did issue three walks.

"This was a big win for us,” Shelton said of Burrows. “We've talked about our starting pitching, especially in Pittsburgh, and we talk about the five starters. We talk about [Johan] Oviedo coming back. We talk about [Bubba] Chandler. We talk about [Thomas] Harrington.

“We haven't talked about Burrows. The fact that he was able to come back from Tommy John [surgery] and finish the season on a major league mound at Yankee Stadium, being able to throw strikes and getting his first win, that's a big win for us."

With plenty of family and friends in attendance, the Waterford, Conn., native impressed to propel the Pirates to victory. Burrows finished his afternoon having thrown 3 1/3 innings of one-run ball and was also charged with an unearned run.

At the plate

Less than 24 hours removed from producing three home runs as a team, the Pirates improved upon that feat with five on Saturday. Nick Gonzales homered for the second straight day after breaking his three-month drought on Friday. Yasmani Grandal, Billy Cook, Jared Triolo and Nick Yorke also all went deep in the victory.

In his previous 28 starts this season, Yankees starter Luis Gil had yielded only 14 home runs. But on Saturday, the Pirates went deep four times against the 15-game winner and once more against New York reliever Will Warren.

"To see the young kids come in, have good swings — I mean, the guy who started for them is probably going to be the American League Rookie of the Year,” Shelton said. “He's a special young arm, a special pitcher.

“The fact that we had good at-bats and were able to grind, I was really proud of our group."

They said it

“He's doing things that we haven't seen anyone do,” Shelton said of Skenes. “Since he's come up, it's hard to argue that he's not only been the Rookie of the Year but been one of the best pitchers in baseball with the things he's done.

“To have a sub-2.00 ERA in his first year, especially in today's era, that's pretty special.”

Up next

Sunday: Pirates at Yankees, 3:05 p.m. ET, Yankee Stadium

Probable pitchers: LHP Bailey Falter (8-9, 4.26) for Pirates; RHP Clarke Schmidt (5-5, 2.55) for Yankees

Key matchup: Falter has never pitched against the Yankees in his MLB career. Against American League East opponents, the southpaw possesses a career 2.41 ERA.

Hidden stat: Bryan Reynolds is the first Pirates player since Brian Giles to hit at least 24 home runs in four straight seasons.

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