Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes made an emphatic start against the St. Louis Cardinals at home in PNC Park on Tuesday night. Despite not registering a win, Skenes pitched five scoreless innings.
They gave up no runs while striking out five batters. The Pirates reliever carried his good start forward, giving up no runs in the remaining four innings to help the home team to a narrow 1-0 victory.
With their latest win, the Pirates extended their winning streak to five games and have now won two back-to-back series since last losing one against the Milwaukee Brewers. The Bucs will play out the series finale against the Cardinals on Wednesday before traveling to Seattle to take on the Mariners in a three-game series over the weekend.
Paul Skenes Helps Ground Staff at PNC Park
After the game, while the stadium emptied and players prepared to leave the clubhouse, Skenes was still out on the field helping the ground staff at PNC Park cut grass, mend the infield dirt, and lay down the tarp on home plate and the mound. This was a beautiful and kind gesture by the future Cy Young Award winner, who told the media that he was bored and went out to help the ground crew on the field.
Pirates beat writer for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Noah Hiles, shared an image of the infield from his vantage point in the press box. Skenes could be seen at first base assisting the ground staff. Hiles further reported that during his observation, the 2024 NL ROY had been out there for 15-20 minutes.
Paul Skenes looks to have joined the Pirates grounds crew. He’s been out there, chopping it up with the boys for a good 15-20 minutes now. pic.twitter.com/QtRlGwcKqA
— Noah Hiles (@_NoahHiles) July 1, 2025
Hiles further shared Skenes’ response when asked about helping the ground crew after the game in a post on X.com. The Pirates beat writer wrote, “Followed up on this. Paul said he was out there because he was bored. He would love to cut grass professionally whenever his baseball days are over.”
Paul Skenes Reflected on His Tuesday’s Outing Against the Cardinals
In the postgame interview, Skenes reflected on his five scoreless innings and praised his team’s stellar defense, which allowed him to pitch more confidently. He said, “I mean, all things considered, it went pretty well.”
He added, “They could have easily put on a couple of runs there. We made some really, really good plays behind me. So, thankful for that, just, you know, kind of had to grind through it a little bit, but pretty happy with it, especially the infield.”
Skenes is 4-7 for the season and will be making his next start at Kauffman Stadium against the Kansas City Royals on July 7.