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Pirates' Paul Skenes problem has returned originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
The Pittsburgh Pirates have been here before, but they likely hoped that they were leaving it in the past.
Turns out, an old Paul Skenes problem has returned.
To be clear, this isn't really Skenes' fault, but it's a reality he is facing again.
The Pirates have lost each of Skenes' last six starts, including Sunday against the Miami Marlins.
That seems impossible, because he's one of the best pitchers on the planet. But each of the last six times Skenes has taken the mound to start a game, the Pirates have lost by the end of the game.
It's hard to figure out how that happens. Sometimes, pitchers seem to have bad luck in a given season, but it doesn't necessarily carry over year to year.
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The Pirates have a much-improved offense this season, which should remove the likelihood of this happening quite as often.
Yet at least lately, Pittsburgh is seeing Skenes struggle to get them wins.
He's still his dominant self in many ways. On Sunday, he led MLB in swings-and-misses caused by a pitcher, with an impressive 23.
But when the Pirates' game came to an end against Miami, the offense hadn't given Skenes enough support to win.
Whether it's a problem that can be solved or not is hard to know. But what's clear is that Pittsburgh needs to stop wasting Skenes' starts.
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