On Friday night, the Pittsburgh Pirates will open up a series with the Los Angeles Dodgers in California.
The Pirates are coming off a 4-3 win over the Detroit Tigers (at home) on Wednesday.
Pirates Manager Makes Paul Skenes Statement
GettyPaul Skenes #30 of the Pittsburgh Pirates pitches in the third inning during the game against the Detroit Tigers at PNC Park on August 19, 2026 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Ahead of their series with the Dodgers, manager Don Kelly spoke about Pirates star Paul Skenes (via MLB Network Radio on SiriusXM).
Kelly: “We’re just going to take it start by start and see how he’s doing. He was coming off of five innings and 65 and like you mentioned, he pushed back till the start on Wednesday. And I think that we’ll just take it start by start. The other day we were looking at 80 or 85 pitches coming off of 65 and see how we’ll just see how he recovers and how he’s doing, but he felt a lot better on Wednesday in that outing.”
Interviewer: “Is there concern with the velocity and I believe like he got up to 97 in his last start. I know when he was against the Marlins, it was averaging about 95. That’s not like him. He’s usually a guy that’s upper 90s area. Is that concerning at all to you guys?”
Kelly: “I think that the velo this year has been down and even consistently from the beginning of the season. I think that that’s something that you always have to be mindful of and monitor and I think that the main thing is Paul says that he feels good.”
Skenes is in the middle of his third season pitching at the MLB level (all with the Pirates).
He is coming off an outstanding year where he won the National League Cy Young Award.
That said, Skenes has gone just 9-11 with a 3.95 ERA in 26 starts this year.
Looking At The Pirates Right Now
GettyPaul Skenes #30 of the Pittsburgh Pirates looks on from the dug out during the fourth inning of a spring training game between the Houston Astros and the Pittsburgh Pirates at CACTI Park of the Palm Beaches on February 28, 2026 in West Palm Beach, Florida.
The Pirates are currently the fourth-place team in the National League Central with a 63-66 record in 129 games.
They have gone 5-5 over their last ten games (and are 29-34 in 63 games away from PNC Park).
Pittsburgh Pirates Manager Makes Paul Skenes Statement