Why the Pittsburgh Pirates Are Pushing Paul Skenes’ Start Back

Looking at the order of the Pittsburgh Pirates' starting rotation, it's technically Paul Skenes' turn to pitch on Sunday in the team's series finale against the Boston Red Sox. However, the Pirates' ace won't be on the mound. Instead, Pittsburgh will go with a bullpen game, with Lane Bachar being the opener for the game. According to manager Don Kelly, the reason for pushing Skenes back has nothing to do with an injury. Instead, the Pirates just want to give the star pitcher more rest between starts. "Just giving Paul more rest," explained Kelly. "He was ready to go and we feel like it'll give him a few more days to recover. And also as we go through that, give other guys on the backside an extra day as well." "Everybody's dealing with stuff physical this year, but he's given us no indication that it's injured and related." Aug 5, 2026; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes (30) during the game against the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images Of course, all of this comes as there is a growing concern for Skenes amid a sharp drop in velocity over the last few months. Not only is Skenes objectively not throwing as hard this year, but he didn't even throw a pitch over 96 mph in his outing against the Miami Marlins last week, which became a massive red flag for those on the outside looking in.  The downtick in velocity has also inflated Skenes' overall stats. In his eight starts since the beginning of July, he has a 5.62 ERA and a 1.46 WHIP. The punchouts have still been strong, with a strikeout rate of just under 29 percent.  When Skenes was asked about being pushed back, the pitcher said he showed up to the ballpark and threw in the bullpen, expecting to pitch tomorrow. However, after talking with Kelly, the decision was made not to have him throw on Sunday. That said, Skenes doesn't disagree with his skipper's decision to move his start back and reiterated that he'll back and support his manager's decision.  Perhaps a few extra days of rest are exactly what Skenes needs to help get the velocity back to where it's been throughout his career.  Either way, with the Pirates making these moves with Skenes, everyone's eyes will be on the radar gun on Wednesday to see how hard the flamethrower is throwing.