Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Paul Skenes (30) throws a pitch in the first inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field on June 25. Benny Sieu-Imagn Images

Pittsburgh Pirates' Paul Skenes Does Something He's Never Done in Worst Performance of Season

Originally posted on Fastball on SI | By Brady Farkas | Last updated Jun 25, 2025 4:34 PM ET

In a highly-anticipated matchup between the Pittsburgh Pirates and Milwaukee Brewers on Wednesday, it was Pirates' ace Paul Skenes who came up on the short end of the stick.

Pitching against electric Brewers' rookie Jacob Misiorowski, Skenes lasted just four innings, giving up four runs on four hits. He walked two and struck out four.

He gave up four runs in the bottom of the second inning, and that was just the first time in his career he'd ever allowed four runs in a single inning.

paul skenes in his 237th inning pic.twitter.com/HfbVKKm7xt
— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) June 25, 2025

One of the best pitchers in baseball, Skenes now has an ERA of 2.12. He's struck out 110 batters in 106.0 innings and has a WHIP of 0.91. Despite this subpar start, he's still on track to make his second consecutive All-Star Game. He started the game for the National League last year, then won the Rookie of the Year Award and finished in the top three of the Cy Young voting. He's likely to be in the mix for the award again this season.

On the other side, Misiorowski regularly flashed 100-mph heat en route to five scoreless innings. He has allowed just three hits in his first 16.0 major league innings and has an ERA of 1.13.

The Pirates will be off on Thursday before starting a new series on Friday at Citi Field against the New York Mets. First pitch that day is set for 6:40 p.m. ET. Skenes will not be slated to pitch in that series against the National League East contenders.

This article first appeared on Fastball on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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