The mystery around Paul Skenes' 2026 struggles just keeps growing. The reigning National League Cy Young winner will not start Sunday as scheduled. Pittsburgh Pirates manager Don Kelly said that his ace will get three extra days of rest and will start Wednesday instead.
Skenes told reporters he did not disagree with the decision to push him back.
Pittsburgh is not calling it an injury, but there is no denying that something is clearly off with Skenes this year.
He threw just 65 pitches over five innings Tuesday in Miami and came out anyway, having allowed two runs, one of them earned, on five hits with a walk and four strikeouts. His four-seam fastball averaged 95.7 miles per hour that night, the lowest single-game mark of his career and more than a full tick under his season average. Hitters put eight balls in play at 95 mph or harder and he got just four swings-and-misses.
The velocity has been a red flag. He is at 96.8 mph on the four-seamer, down from 98.2 last year and 98.8 as a rookie. Kelly said the bigger issue is command. The league is adjusting back, he said this week, and Skenes has to adjust with it.
More: Are Pirates signaling a Paul Skenes shutdown? Or a more actively managed workload?
Skenes had a 1.98 ERA in early May after back-to-back eight-inning shutout starts. In 16 starts since May 17 it is 5.00, with 10 home runs allowed in 84⅔ innings. (He gave up 11 home runs all of last season in 187⅔ innings.)
Pittsburgh is 3-13 in that stretch. His walk rate has climbed up to 6.8%.
Skenes, 24, has discounted the velocity questions all summer, and he did not argue with the early hook Tuesday. If he were the manager, he said, he would probably have made the same call.
The Pirates are 60-65, 6.5 games out of the last National League wild card and in last place in the National league Central. They were tied for a playoff spot four weeks ago. They don't get there without Skenes.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: When does Paul Skenes pitch next? Pirates push back ace's next start