Pirates' Paul Skenes 'Not Going to Sweat' Giving Up Career-Worst 5 Runs vs. Cardinals

After surrendering a career-high five earned runs in Tuesday's 5-3 loss to the St. Louis Cardinals, Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes isn't going to let a single bad outing rattle him.

"It's not like they hit the ball into the river or anything like that," Skenes said after the loss, per the Associated Press. "They just found some holes and I got behind in some counts and kind of let them get good swings off. Not going to sweat it. It is what it is."

Skenes worked quickly through the first two innings and retired six straight batters, but things quickly fell apart. He gave up three runs to the Cardinals in the third inning and two more in the sixth before being pulled from the game ahead of the seventh. His career record against the Pirates' longtime NL Central rivals is now 0-3.

The 22-year-old phenom said he felt his stuff was "good," but he admitted that he made a few too many mistakes by leaving the ball over the middle of the plate.

"It's funny, a lot of the times you get away with those," Skenes said. "Just didn't get away with them today. Kind of is what it is."

The reigning National League Rookie of the Year added that while he's still developing his chemistry with catcher Endy Rodriguez, he feels like they've made significant progress. Rodriguez missed the entire 2024 season due to UCL surgery.

"We're thinking very similarly. I don't think I shook today," Skenes said. "I'm a fan of the game that he called and that we called together. It just comes down to executing."

Skenes will have the chance to bounce back during his next projected start on April 14 in Pittsburgh's series opener against the Washington Nationals.