Tuesday was the worst loss of the Pittsburgh Pirates season. It isn’t close. Coming off a 2-1 victory thanks to a Nick Gonzales late-inning hit, the Pirates sent the best pitcher in baseball to the mound, riding a streak of winning nine of their last 11.
If I had told you Paul Skenes would pitch the most efficient game of his career and return to the mound for the 9th, you would have said the Pirates are winning or Skenes has a no-hitter with fewer than 100 pitches. Neither were true. The Pirates lost.
I sat in section 116 Tuesday, which marked the fourth time I’ve seen Skenes pitch in person at PNC Park, fifth overall.