Paul Skenes will try to bounce back as Pirates host Nationals

Pittsburgh ace Paul Skenes is coming off a career-worst start and will try to get himself and the Pirates back on track when they host the Washington Nationals in the first of a four-game series on Monday night.

Skenes (1-1, 3.44 ERA) will oppose Nationals 25-year-old rookie right-hander Brad Lord (0-0, 1.80), who will make his second career start and also try to reverse his team’s recent fortune.

After winning four in a row, Washington has lost three of its past four, including back-to-back games against the Marlins in Miami over the weekend.

The Pirates were swept in three games at Cincinnati over the weekend. Offense continues to be a problem for Pittsburgh, which scored five runs combined in those three games.

Pittsburgh enters Monday’s games tied for the third-fewest runs scored in the majors (50) and sporting the worst team batting average (.184), team slugging percentage (.290) and team OPS (.563).

On Sunday, the Pirates were held to two hits against Cincinnati’s Hunter Greene, who pitched seven shutout innings and retired the final 17 batters he faced as the Reds dealt Pittsburgh a 4-0 loss.

“We can’t let opportunities be squandered,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “We have to capitalize on opportunities when we do have them.”

Skenes, who has never faced the Nationals, gave up a career-worst five runs over six innings last Tuesday in a 5-3 home loss to the St. Louis Cardinals. Skenes struck out seven, but struggled with his location, giving up those runs on six hits, including two extra-base hits.

“One walk, seven punchouts is a bad start that most guys would take,” Pirates general manager Ben Cherington said Sunday during his weekly radio show on the Pirates’ flagship station 93.7 FM in Pittsburgh. “It speaks to the sort of level that he’s created for himself.”

The injury to right-hander Michael Soroka due to a right biceps strain and his subsequent placement on the injured list prompted the Nationals to tap Lord to fill in his spot in their rotation last Tuesday.

Lord’s first start came against the reigning World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers after three relief appearances to begin his career. The outing was brief but effective overall as he allowed no runs on two hits and two walks over three innings and 55 pitches, and helped Washington emerge with an 8-2 victory. Lord’s performance included fanning Shohei Ohtani for his first career strikeout.

“When he’s throwing strikes, it’s a good thing,” Nationals manager Dave Martinez said after Lord’s start. “I keep telling the young guys, you cannot walk away from the strike zone. We have to attack early and make pitches.”

The Nationals’ starting pitching struggled in each of their two defeats in Miami.

MacKenzie Gore, the third overall pick in 2017 by the Padres, couldn’t slow down the Marlins bats on Sunday, allowing four runs on eight hits and three walks over six innings in taking an 11-4 loss. Lord will try to change that trend on Monday night.

One bright spot Sunday for Washington was 27-year-old right-hander Cole Henry, who made his major league debut and struck out two while allowing one hit in a scoreless ninth. Henry, a second-round pick in 2020, underwent thoracic outlet syndrome surgery in 2022. The Nationals hope he can provide length out of their bullpen this season.

“He threw the ball really well,” Martinez said. “I mean, that was awesome to see.”

–Field Level Media