North Shore Nine

The Pirates dropped their eighth shutout of the season in a brutal 1-0 loss to the Phillies, wasting yet another dominant start from Paul Skenes. Skenes went eight strong innings, allowing just one run on three hits while striking out nine—lowering his ERA to 2.44—but fell to 3-5 on the year. It was a masterclass performance that deserved better.

Offensively, the Bucs continued their historic slump, scoring four runs or fewer for the 23rd straight game and managing just five singles on the day. Even a seventh-inning rally with two on and no outs fizzled thanks to a failed Adam Frazier bunt and a double play from IKF. Oneil Cruz struck out four times and has now whiffed in eight of his last nine plate appearances since returning from injury.

This was the kind of game that perfectly captures the frustration of Pirates fans: elite pitching, no offense, and zero answers.

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