Pirates' Paul Skenes Completes First Spring Training Start

Skenes gave up a leadoff walk to Braves designated hitter Mike Yaztremski on four straight balls, but then came back and struck out second baseman Ozzie Albies on four pitches, with two splitters used.

He walked his fourth batter in center fielder Michael Harris II, putting two runners on, but got out of the inning with a ground out from shortstop Mauricio Dubón and a pop up from Acuña.

Skenes gave up a big hit to Baldwin to leadoff the bottom of the third inning, but Pirates center fielder Oneil Cruz completely misread the ball, as it fell far behind him and resulted in Baldwin getting in for a triple.

He finished his outing by striking out Olson on three pitches, two four-seam fastballs and then the curveball.

Right-handed pitcher Jarod Bayless came in for Skenes and gave up a double to Profar, which is how Skenes got the earned run on his final pitching line.

Breaking Down Skenes' Start

Skenes utilized all seven pitches in his arsenal, using his fastball almost half the time, then going with his changeup, sinker, splitter, curveball, sweeper and then slider just once.

He was half-way between strikes at 27 and balls at 24, explaining the four walks in his outing.

Skenes also reached as high as 99 mph with his fastball and as low as 82 mph with his curveball, giving a mix of velocity between his pitches.

He'll look to have better control of his curveball, four balls on five pitches, and also on his fastball, with 12 balls on 26 pitches.