The Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the Chicago White Sox Friday night in Chicago by a score of 4-1.
Starting pitcher Marco Gonzales tossed 5 innings in his first start since April 13th when he landed on the injured list, allowing 1 run on 7 hits and collecting 4 strikeouts.
7 Pirates had a hit in the game, including 2 from third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes. The team scored its 4 runs across the 5th and 6th innings, before handing the ball over to the bullpen to shut it down.
David Bednar also returned from the injured list to earn his first save since June 19th.
The Pirates and White Sox play again today at 2:10 PM. WISR Pre-game begins at 1:45 PM. The series also wraps up Sunday at 2:10 PM, WISR Pre-game beginning at 1:10 PM with the Ben Cherrington Show.
Paul Skenes will start for the National League Tuesday in Arlington, Texas for this year’s All-Star Game.
Skenes becomes the 4th rookie pitcher in the game’s history to start the All-Star Game. He is also the Pirate’s 5th All-Star starting pitcher in Franchise history, joining Jerry Reuss, Doc Ellis, Vern Law, and Bob Friend.
In his first 11 career starts Skenes has a 1.90 ERA in 66.1 innings while striking out 89 batters, the most in the Majors since his debut May 11th. His most recent start featured 7 innings of no-hit ball while collecting 11 strikeouts.