Pirates Announce Next Paul Skenes Start

He improved his record to 10-9 on the season, marking the first time he's been a game over .500, since late April, as he's earned a win in his last three starts.

It also dropped his career ERA to 1.97 over 52 starts, the lowest in MLB history over that amount of time since the beginning of the liveball era (1920-present).

Skenes will make his 30th start of the season in his outing vs. the Orioles and has about three more starts afterwards before 2025 ends.

He ranks amongst the best pitchers in baseball, with the lowest ERA (1.98), tied for the third most strikeouts (195), fourth lowest WHIP (0.94), tied for the fifth lowest batting average (.195) and the seventh most innings pitched (173.0). He also has the sixth best K/BB (5.000, the 10th best K/9 (10.14) and the 11th best BB/9 (2.03).

Skenes is also the frontrunner for the National League Cy Young Award, with the lowest ERA, tied for the most strikeouts, second lowest WHIP, the third most innings pitched and the fourth lowest opposing batting average in the NL.

Rookie right-handed pitcher Mike Burrows starts for the Pirates in the series opener vs. the Orioles on Sept. 9, with first pitch set for 6:35 p.m.

Burrows last made a start for the Pirates against the Colorado Rockies at PNC Park on Aug. 23. He threw four scoreless innings, allowing two hits and a walk and posting five strikeouts over 57 pitches in the 5-1 victory.

Pirates manager Don Kelly and his pitching staff have worked on managing Burrows' workload the rest of the season. He is at 81.2 innings pitched at the MLB level and pitched 32.1 innings with Triple-A Indianapolis, 113.2 innings total in 2025.

Burrows' previous-high of innings pitched in a season was 94.2 innings with Double-A Altoona in 2023. He injured his ulnar collateral ligament (UCL), which resulted in him undergo Tommy John surgery on April 26, 2023, ending his season after just two starts at Triple-A.

He then pitched 51.1 innings last season, coming back in June 2024 for his first rehab assignment.

Burrows came out of the bullpen for his last two appearances. He threw two innings, giving up five hits and one earned run over 44 pitches in the 10-3 win over the Red Sox on Aug. 30. He also he threw three scoreless innings vs. the Dodgers on Sept. 3, helping secure a 3-0 win for the Pirates.

He has started 16 of his 19 outings since making his MLB debut on May 22 this season, with a 2-4 record, a 4.08 ERA, 82 strikeouts to 29 walks, a .239 opposing batting average and a 1.26 WHIP.

Right-handed pitcher Johan Oviedo takes the mound for the Pirates in the series finale vs. the Orioles on Sept. 11, with first pitch set for 1:05 p.m.

Oviedo worked out of some jams and had a solid outing vs. the Milwaukee Brewers in the series opener at PNC Park on Sept. 5, allowing one hit, three walks, hitting a batter and an earned run ofve five innings, while throwing four strikeouts and 78 pitches.

He didn't earn the win, as the Brewers came through later on and took the 5-2 victory and eventually a series sweep in Pittsburgh.

He faced the Orioles one time prior in his career on May 12, 2023 at Camden Yards, where he threw 86 pitches over five innings, allowing four hits, five walks and an earned run, while posting three strikeouts in a no-decision in an eventual 6-3 defeat.

This marks his fifth straight start, as has established himself in the Pirates' rotation for the end of the season.

He missed all of 2024 after undergoing Tommy John surgery and missed time earlier this season with a lat injury, which prevented him from making his season debut with the Pirates until Aug. 4. He also went back down to Indianapolis for two weeks before re-joining the team on Aug. 20.

Oviedo has had a strong showing with the Pirates in 2025, with a 2-0 record in five starts, a 2.70 ERA over 20.0 innings pitched, 24 strikeouts to 11 walks, a .159 opposing batting average and a 1.10 WHIP.