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Paul Skenes Finally Getting This Benefit From Pirates For First Time originally appeared on SportsNet Pittsburgh. Add SportsNet Pittsburgh as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
Over the first two years of his MLB career, Paul Skenes didn't get much run support from the Pittsburgh Pirates.
That was especially true last year, when the Pirates had the worst offense in baseball. Skenes suffered as a result, going just 10-10 despite leading the Major Leagues with a 1.97 ERA and winning the NL Cy Young unanimously.
Fortunately for Skenes and Pittsburgh, runs haven't been hard to come by this year. The Pirates turbocharged their lineup over the offseason by acquiring Brandon Lowe, Ryan O'Hearn and Marcell Ozuna, dramatically improving their offense.
After averaging an MLB-low 3.60 runs per game last year, Pittsburgh is averaging 5.13 runs per game this season, good for seventh in the Majors.
The Pirates have been hitting even better when Skenes is on the mound, scoring at least seven runs in all four of his starts this year and averaging 10.06 runs per game. That's resulted in some big leads and easy outings for Skenes, who's 3-1 with a 4.00 ERA and leads the National League in wins.
By comparison, Pittsburgh averaged just 3.41 runs per game for Skenes last year.
Now that he's getting better run support, Skenes might have a shot at 20 wins this year if he stays healthy, which would make his Cy Young case even more compelling.
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