Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes must be glad July is over.
The right-hander allowed five earned runs and a season-high four walks during the Pirates' 8-7 loss to the Cincinnati Reds on Friday. The rocky appearance rounded out the worst month of the 24-year-old's career, pushing his 2026 ERA to 3.90.
"I think today was extreme," Skenes said postgame, according to MLB.com's Aiden Stepansky. "Today was just straight up the sloppiest outing of the year for me."
In July, Skenes posted a 3-2 record with a 6.25 ERA and 1.55 WHIP while maintaining his usual high number of strikeouts. Most of the damage against the 2025 NL Cy Young winner came in three outings against the Reds, Philadelphia Phillies, and Chicago Cubs in which he allowed a combined 17 earned runs and walked eight.
In his other outings, Skenes looked like his typical self, combining for five earned runs while winning three straight starts.
Despite what the numbers show, Skenes said he largely feels good about his performance in July, though he admitted Friday's outing was a bad way to end the month as the Pirates battle for a playoff spot.
"Up until today, I think I've viewed the past month or so as me throwing the ball pretty well, but even though it doesn't look like it at all, really," Skenes said. "So the month as a whole I don't think has been terrible. Today was pretty terrible."
