Paul Skenes takes the mound for the Pittsburgh Pirates on July 1 against Zack Wheeler and the Philadelphia Phillies at Citizens Bank Park. The Pirates need a sharper start from him after losing their last eight games in which he pitched. This is Game 3 of a four-game set, and the matchup puts two of the league’s best recent lines in the same game.
Paul Skenes seeks a reset
Skenes enters at 6-7 with a 3.10 ERA, but the bigger number around him is the Pirates’ eight-game skid in his starts. He is 0-5 in that span. That run has turned every outing into a test of whether Pittsburgh can turn a solid individual line into a win.
His most recent start came on June 26 against the Cincinnati Reds. He worked five innings, allowed six hits and four earned runs, and took a 6-4 loss. The start before that came on May 17 against the Philadelphia Phillies, when he threw five innings, gave up six hits and five earned runs, and was tagged in a 6-0 loss at home.
Zack Wheeler brings the edge
Wheeler comes in at 8-1 with a 2.03 ERA, and his last two starts show why the Phillies are comfortable handing him this spot. Against the New York Mets at Citi Field, he threw seven innings, allowed four hits and one earned run, and finished a 2-1 victory. He also held the Pittsburgh Pirates to seven innings of shutout ball on May 17 in a 6-0 win at PNC Park.
That split-screen matters because the game is not just about one pitcher trying to settle in. It is about whether the Pirates can break a pattern that has followed Skenes through eight straight starts, even while his season line still looks strong on paper. Wheeler’s recent work gives the Philadelphia Phillies the cleaner path, and Skenes needs the Pirates to convert his outing into something different this time.
Citizens Bank Park on July 1
The game is set for Citizens Bank Park in Philadelphia, PA, with KDKA AM/FM and Sportsnet Pittsburgh listed for the broadcast. For Pittsburgh, the immediate task is simple: stop the losing streak in Skenes starts. For the matchup itself, the question is whether Skenes can match Wheeler pitch for pitch and give the Pirates a result they have not had in his last eight outings.
