Paul Skenes continues domination vs. Dodgers, makes Cy Young case with another gem

Thursday's win moved Pittsburgh to 64-77 on the season and completed its seventh sweep of the season. All but one of Pittsburgh's sweeps this year have come at PNC Park, where the Pirates are now 42-30 on the campaign.

Paul Skenes' Cy Young-worthy season continues

By striking out eight and walking just one while allowing two hits, Skenes lowered his ERA on the season to 1.98 and continued his string of shutouts against the Dodgers. On April 25 inside Chavez Ravine, Skenes scattered five hits over 6.1 innings to help Pittsburgh earn a 3-0 decision.

Prior to Thursday, Skenes was padding his resume for the National League Cy Young Award with plenty of head-shaking stats. Just one walk issued against the Dodgers kept Skenes from extending an impressive run. The 23-year-old right-hander has made five scoreless starts with zero walks issued this season, tying him with Babe Adams (1920) for the most starts by a Pirates pitcher in a season in the Modern Era (since 1901).

Skenes, who won the National League Rookie of the Year Award in 2024, had posted a 1.98 ERA and 195 strikeouts while issuing 39 walks through his first 29 starts of the season.

Before Thursday's outing, Skenes had pitched to a 2.01 ERA with 357 strikeouts and a .198 batting average against through the first 51 starts of his major league career, marking the fifth-lowest ERA by any pitcher through the first 51 starts of his big league career since earned runs became an official statistic in both leagues in 1913.

With just 21 games left for the Pirates in the regular season, Skenes could make four to five more starts this year. They will be chances to continue to show why he deserves the Cy Young Award, recognizing the best pitcher in the NL. Based on what he has done against the Dodgers this season, Skenes is certainly deserving of the honor.