Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes took the mound Tuesday night against the Miami Marlins.
However, the outing went nowhere near as planned and ended in an extremely unusual way for the three-time All-Star.
Skenes pitched five innings, allowing five hits and two earned runs before Pittsburgh pulled him after just 65 pitches. He also never topped 97 mph, with his fastest pitch reaching just 96.5 mph.
Paul Skenes threw just 65 pitches in five innings tonight against the Marlins, allowing one earned run while striking out four, walking one and allowing five hits
He never reached 97 MPH on any pitch pic.twitter.com/MNufGwO7Ut
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) August 12, 2026
The Pirates went on to lose 2-0 as Marlins starter Eury Pérez pitched seven shutout innings, allowing just three hits while recording seven strikeouts.
MLB World Reacts on Social Media
Baseball fans reacted to Skenes’ outing with concern for the 24-year-old superstar.
“Time to shut him down. Man needs a real offseason to recover,” one fan said.
Someone else added, “Forget 97, he was at 95 all game. Something is clearly wrong.”
Another person wrote, “Something is off with him man and it feels like the Pirates aren’t doing a [explicit] thing about it.”
“This is extremely concerning. I’m wondering if he may also have loose bodies in his elbow,” a fan shared.
“This is alarming,” another fan commented.
Skenes’ 2026 Season
Skenes earned another All-Star selection this season and has remained a formidable pitcher by most standards. Yet, his performance has taken a step back compared to his first two MLB seasons.
He’s allowed at least five earned runs in two of his last four starts and hasn’t completed a start without allowing an earned run since May 12.
The former No. 1 overall pick entered Tuesday night with a 9-10 record, a 3.96 ERA and 162 strikeouts across 24 starts and 129.2 innings.
MLB World Reacts to Paul Skenes’ Unusual Outing Against Marlins