It was supposed to be the marquee pitching duel of the series — Paul Skenes versus Zack Wheeler — but Wednesday night in Philadelphia turned into a slugfest, and the Pirates came out on the losing end 10-6 at Citizens Bank Park.
Trea Turner was the offensive catalyst for Philly once again, homering for the third consecutive game of this series and driving in three runs. Brandon Marsh crushed his fifteenth home run of the year, and Bryce Harper added two more R-B-I to his major league-leading fifty-six on the season.
Paul Skenes lasted just five innings — extending his stunning team winless streak to nine straight starts. The reigning N-L Cy Young winner now sits at six and seven on the year with a three-ten E-R-A, and Pittsburgh’s offense simply cannot bail him out. The Pirates did show some fight — Bryan Reynolds, Nick Gonzales, Jared Triolo, and Henry Davis all drove in runs and Davis went deep for his seventh homer — but the bullpen gave up the lead for good after Skenes exited.
Pittsburgh falls to forty-three and forty-three — fourth in the N-L Central. The Bucs wrap up this four-game series in Philadelphia today before heading to Washington to open a three-game set against the Nationals on Friday night at 6:40pm Eastern.
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