PITTSBURGH -- Paul Skenes¡¯ raw talent is undeniable, but for whatever reason the Cardinals have the number of the reigning National League Rookie of the Year.
The Cardinals, the only team to beat Skenes twice in 2024, hammered the Pirates star right-hander for a career-high five earned runs and six hits on Tuesday in a 5-3 victory over the Pirates at PNC Park to snap a four-game skid.
¡°I don¡¯t know if it is [seeing the ball well off Skenes], but it is the fact that we compete, we have a good plan against him and we stick to it,¡± said Cardinals catcher Pedro Pag¨¦s, who drove in the fifth run on an RBI groundout in the sixth inning. ¡°We¡¯ve been doing that against him [for two seasons] and we¡¯ve gotten good at-bats against him. That¡¯s what it¡¯s all about -- take good at-bats off him and see what happens.¡±
Skenes, the All-Star Game starter and a third-place finisher in NL Cy Young voting in 2024, was rocked for three runs in the third inning and two more in the sixth before leaving the game. The five earned runs were one more than the Dodgers touched Skenes for in Los Angeles on Aug. 10, 2024.
¡°It's not something I'm going to lose any sleep over,¡± said Skenes, who has suffered four losses in his short MLB career -- three of which have come at the hands of the Cardinals. ¡°It's just, it's the game. They're big leaguers. This is their fourth time seeing me. That's just sort of how it goes. Got to tip your cap. They just executed a little better than I did today."
A Cardinals offense that is baseball¡¯s only squad to score at least four runs in every game got the two extra-base hits from Victor Scott II and two more hits from Brendan Donovan. The Cardinals offense that set the NL record for consecutive games with double-digit hits (nine) to open the season has scored at least four runs in 11 straight games. That is one game shy of the NL record to open a season, one set by the 1954 Cardinals. The 1978 Red Sox and 1932 Yankees hold the record for consecutive games with at least four runs scored to open a season at 13.
¡°I mean our offense just has a lot of weaponry and a lot of pieces that are explosive and dynamic,¡± said Cardinals¡¯ speedster Scott II, who notched his first career triple, a double and two RBIs -- all off Skenes. ¡°I think this lineup is scary though. When everybody is clicking and they are sticking to their approach, it¡¯s a scary offense for sure.¡±
Added Donovan, whose 17 hits are tied for second-most in the Majors: ¡°I¡¯ll say this, it¡¯s a relentless bunch. We have a team [offensive] plan and then individualized reports and [hitting coach Brant Brown], [assistant hitting coach Brandon Allen] and [gameday planning coach Packy Elkins] do great jobs with that. It¡¯s just up to us to execute that approach, and we did that tonight.¡±
The Cardinals reached Skenes for three earned runs in the third inning when Pag¨¦s and Masyn Winn reached on singles and Scott followed with his triple. Scott, who moved up into the leadoff spot in the lineup for the first time with Lars Nootbaar getting a day off, drilled a 98.3 mph four-seam fastball from Skenes into the right-center gap.
Maybe the most important aspect of Scott¡¯s triple and double was him never hesitating in taking extra bases most never would have attempted. Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said Scott¡¯s aggressiveness on the bases is another sign of the confidence oozing from the second-year player.
¡°The ability to get moving and know that ball is supposed to be a double and that other ball is supposed to be a triple when it¡¯s off my bad, that¡¯s a testament to me not breaking stride,¡± said Scott, who boosted his batting average (.297) and OPS (.858).
Donovan drilled a Skenes¡¯ splitter the other way to plate Scott from third base. Then, in the sixth inning, Donovan led off with a double and came around to score when Alec Burleson smashed a curveball up the middle. Burleson has had some of the most success against the Pirates star, racking up five hits in 2024 and ¡¯25.
¡°We had a tough stretch with some long days, late travel and crappy weather -- you can make excuses or deal with it,¡± said Sonny Gray, who limited the Pirates to one run over five innings. ¡°Then, you¡¯re coming here facing arguably one of the best pitchers in baseball. We were able to put up three [runs] in the third and we didn¡¯t stop there. That was a big win.¡±