The Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the Arizona Diamondbacks 10-1 last night. With the victory, the Pirates won just their second road series of the season. Paul Skenes pitched 6-2/3rds innings of shutout baseball, allowing four hits. He did not walk a batter, and struck out seven. Skenes has not permitted more than six hits in any of his 35 starts, a major league record to begin a career. He earned his first victory since April 25th, and lowered his ERA to 2.15, which is second-best in the National League.
The Pirates had 11 hits in the game, led by three hits from Isaiah Kiner-Falefa, who also scored three times. Oneil Cruz hit a three-run home run in the eighth inning, his 12th of the year.
After going 26 games without eclipsing the five-run mark, the Pirates have now done so in five of their last seven contests. Arizona has now lost seven of their last eight games.
The Pirates are off today, then will begin a three-game series in San Diego Friday night. They return home to begin a nine-game home-stand next Tuesday.
The Pirates have placed catcher Joey Bart on the seven-day Injured List due to a concussion. Bart’s spot on the active roster will be filled by Endy Rodriguez, who was recalled from Triple-A Indianapolis prior to Wednesday’s game. Rodriguez began a rehab assignment with the Indians on May 14th after being sidelined for a month due to a laceration on his right index finger suffered in a game with Washington a month earlier.