Pirates Change Paul Skenes Next Scheduled Start

"Just giving Paul more rest," Kelly said on the decision. "He was ready to go. Feel like it will give him a few more days to recover. As we go through that, give other guys on the backside and extra day, as well."

Skenes last pitched vs. the Miami Marlins on Aug. 11, throwing just 65 pitches, his third-shortest outing this season, over five innings and giving up two runs in the 2-0 defeat.

He went through his normal routine, throwing his bullpen on Aug. 14 and was ready to start vs. the Red Sox.

Skenes didn't have much of an issue with the change, despite bieng ready to go, and trusts in Kelly and what decision he makes with his schedule going forward.

"Yeah, I mean it's probably all of that," Skenes said. "We had talked about it when I showed up to the field today. When I came, I was-I mean, threw my bullpen and everything yesterday, and was fully anticipating starting tomorrow.

"So, we talked about it at when I showed up at the field. Ultimately, it was Donny's decision, but we had talked about it, and like I said after the last start, I'll have his back on whatever that is. I don't necessarily disagree with the decision either."

Will Skenes Benefit From Start Getting Moved Back?

Skenes has had a tough season for the Pirates, after coming off of winning the 2025 National League Cy Young Award in his first full MLB campaign.

He has posted a 9-11 record in 25 starts, a 3.88 ERA over 134.2 innings pitched, 166 strikeouts to 37 walks, a .228 batting average allowed and a 1.12 WHIP.

Much of his struggles have come over the past three months, with a 3-9 record in his last 16 starts and a 5.00 ERA over 84.2 innings pitched.

His last start wasn't terrible per his statline, but the Marlins hit him hard and almost had three home runs, ending up with just one, as Bryan Reynolds robbed one at the left field wall and Jake Mangum caught one right near the center field wall.

Skenes also had his fastball velocity drop to 95.7 mph, which was 1.2 mph slower than his yearly average of 96.9 mph.

The Pirates ace hasn't dealt with this kind of break before and while he wants to start every fifth game, he'll try and take advantage of the extra time off.

"There's kind of no way to know because I think this will probably be the first time I've ever pitched on an eight-day rotation," Skenes said. "It certainly can't hurt in terms of recovery, and you add recovery in for anybody, and that's going to help.

"So, kind of wish it weren't the case, that I was starting tomorrow because that's something I pride myself on, but it's in the long run it's definitely best to just get some recovery time."

Skenes will get a total of eight days off between these two starts and will likely have him pitch just once on the nine-game road trip, where the Pirates face the Los Angeles Dodgers, San Diego Padres and St. Louis Cardinals over 10 days to end August.

He's thrown about 50 innings less than he did last season when he won the Cy Young, while throwing 2,273 pitches this season compared to 2,997 last season.

Skenes has dealt with this season about the same as last, at least physically, but noted it's more of change in how he's thought about it and approached it compared to his first two seasons.

"Different," Skenes said. "Physically, I don't think it's been any more or less challenging than the last couple years. Mentally, the challenges have probably been just a little bit different."