Paul Skenes struggled again in his 31st start Friday night as he gave up five runs in six innings of work and put the team in a 4-0 hole, but the Pirates bats rallied for eight runs for their second straight win to reach .500 again. Konnor Griffin went 4-for-5 with 2 RBIs and Brandon Lowe blasted his 32nd homer of the season to lead the offense. Jim and Tyler broke this one down on the NS9 Postgame Show powered by Primanti Bros. You can watch or listen here:
I need a Healthy Full Season of Konnor and Cruz Like I Need Air
Hopefully there’s baseball in 2027 and if there is, the number one thing I’m looking forward to is a full season of Konnor Griffin and Oneil Cruz together. I need that as much as I need oxygen daily. Konnor and Cruz combined to go 7-for-10 in this win, contributing with two RBIs and three runs scored as they paced the offense. Both could legitimately steal 40 or 50 bases. Both could have a 20-20 season. Hell, Cruz could have a 40-40 season if he finally stays healthy. I need to see it next season. Please baseball gods, let them both stay healthy and give us a full season together to see what those two can do. Cruz has homered five times since returning in August and Griffin returned early September and he’s picking it up as of late with a current five-game hitting streak and nine hits in those five games. We know what Cruz can do and be a superstar when he’s healthy and on and Griffin is a superstar in the making.
Skenes Better Figure It Out in the Offseason
One of the bigger keys to next season is Paul Skenes finding himself again in the offseason and coming into 2027 looking like 2025 Paul Skenes. The Royals hit Skenes early and often in this one with a solo home run in the 1st inning to give the Royals a quick 1-0 lead. He got hit around in the 3rd inning giving up three more. Then after the Pirates scored two to make it 4-2, he gave up a leadoff home run to start the top of the 4th inning to Michael Massey. Once again, Skenes threw his 4-seam fastball about 43% of the time and it averaged just 96.1 mph. The Royals had three hard hit balls off of the 4-seamer. Skenes did have 10 whiffs off that fastball with 17 total whiffs and seven strikeouts in the start. He flashed the swing and miss stuff again, but again he was just too hittable in another start. After giving up the five runs through four innings, he did bear down and tossed two scoreless to get through six innings which helped the pen. I’m not sure what Skenes deal is. His velo is obviously down and apparently by design but it isn’t working for him. I believe he had a little bit of a dead arm throughout the first half in June when he was laboring and struggling to go five. He had a little bit of a decent break and rest during the All-Star break and was better at times, but still has starts like this too. His mechanics are off and his delivery is different from his previous years. Whatever is going on with him whether it’s by design or not, he needs to figure this out in the offseason.
What kind of pitcher does he want to be? Trying to be a more efficient starter and go deeper in games by sacrificing velocity and being more hittable didn’t really work this season. After this start, his season ERA sits at 3.91. He’s 10-11 on the year and got a no-decision, but the Pirates are 14-17 overall in Skenes 31 starts this season. If the Pirates go 20-11 in his starts, they’re right there in this wildcard race. If they The fastball velo may be gone forever, who knows, but whatever it is the Pirates need Skenes to figure out what is going on and become a more dominant pitcher again. It’s paramount for this team’s chances next season and for all of our mental health watching this team.
Bring Back Yohan
Yohan Ramirez has been on eight teams in his 7-year career. He’s been selected off waivers a couple times, he’s been traded twice, he was on 4 teams alone in 2024 and he’s on his second stint with the Pirates, but the man has balled out this season. Ramirez came into this one with four members of the pen unavailable and he pitched a scoreless 1.1 innings and got the win to move his record to 7-4. His season ERA is down to 3.00 and while it hasn’t always been pretty, he’s been reliable out of this pen all season long even when the bullpen was a disaster. “The Experience” has gotten it done for the most part. He’s still arbitration eligible because he’s under 6 years service time so I say tender him a contract. I vote we bring him back for his bullpen role next season and let Gregory Soto head somewhere else.
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