Pirates' lopsided loss to Dodgers offers a reminder that Paul Skenes can't do it all on his own

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PITTSBURGH — Above the handful of unassigned lockers scattered about the Pittsburgh Pirates' home clubhouse, where a player's nameplate would typically be, are instead a smattering of baseball-centric quotations.

Some are genuinely inspiring.

"I want to be remembered as a ballplayer who gave all he had to give." — Roberto Clemente

Others are painfully cliche.

"To be successful, one must take chances." — Willie Stargell

One is a vulgar acronym from Pirates history. There are also a few well-meaning word salads from manager Don Kelly.

"We have to do this together. The team, the city, fans — everyone has a role."

But it is certainly no coincidence that the quote directly adjacent to the locker belonging to ace hurler Paul Skenes reads: "Momentum is only as good as the next day's starting pitcher." — Jim Leyland

Skenes was solid if unspectacular on Tuesday against the defending champion Los Angeles Dodgers. He struck out seven and allowed just two runs, exiting after the sixth inning with the score tied 2-2. Notably, Skenes retired Shohei Ohtani in all three matchups between the two all-world talents, including an impressive punchout in the third.

But while the day's starting pitcher was good, momentum proved to be very much out of reach for the Pirates on Tuesday.

After Skenes departed, Pittsburgh proceeded to surrender 10 runs in a horror-show seventh inning that sent boos, jeers and Bronx cheers pouring down from the frustrated masses. Los Angeles ultimately won 12-3, providing a small yet ruthless reminder that the gap between the juggernaut Dodgers and upstart Pirates remains significant.

"We got sloppy there," Kelly said afterward. "We just need to play cleaner."

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For the first time in eons, Pittsburgh entered this season with legitimate playoff aspirations. An uncharacteristically aggressive offseason provided the club's undermanned offense with a much-needed jolt. Über-prospect Konnor Griffin waited in the wings. The pitching staff, helmed by Skenes and supported by a bevy of underrated arms, projected to be one of baseball's best. Projection systems across the game pegged Pittsburgh as a real contender. October baseball, after a decade of autumnal woe, seemed like an attainable dream.

Thus far in 2026, that optimism has been only partially realized.

The Pirates sit one game above .500 at 34-33, yet they're 8 games back of the NL Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers. Many of Pittsburgh's lineup additions have paid off in the early going, giving the club one of the sport's most productive offenses. The rotation has been very good, though not quite elite. That, in part, is because the Pirates rate as a very poor defensive team. A below-average bullpen hasn't helped, either.

These Pirates are definitively better, no longer a punch line. Their plus-21 run differential is an undeniable sign of quality. And still, this team is somewhat frustratingly stuck in neutral, yet to fully capitalize on a very capable roster.

Skenes, for his part, has a stat line slightly below his stratospheric standards. After posting a 1.97 ERA during his 2025 Cy Young campaign, the 24-year-old is currently carrying a still-impressive 2.84. Besides being a tad more homer-prone, there's nothing about Skenes' 2026 to fret over. Mostly, he has been unlucky, the victim of some unfortunate batted-ball sequencing.

He reaffirmed after his previous outing that, on the whole, he has been happy with his performances. But as Tuesday showed, when Skenes isn't humming on all cylinders, he can't carry the Pirates all by his lonesome — especially not against a lineup as formidable as Los Angeles'.

"The changeup command wasn't quite as good as it's been," the self-critical right-hander admitted to reporters after the game.

The towering hurler avoided drawing a larger takeaway from his team's recent struggles versus the National League's best. Before Tuesday's loss to L.A., Pittsburgh lost three straight in Atlanta against the league-leading Braves.

"It might be a little bit independent of who we've been playing," he admitted.

Skenes remains one of the game's most compelling characters: stoic, calculating, direct, dominant. He burst onto the scene as a rookie in 2024, propelled by a triple-digit heater and a social media superstar girlfriend. His 2025 was just as good, if not better, solidifying the flamethrower as one of the faces of baseball despite a comically understated personality. Just this week, Skenes made an impromptu appearance at a local Little League because "I was driving down the road, and I saw a baseball field, and I was bored."

That's Skenes in a nutshell; even his feel-good stories carry an aura of baseball-centric intensity. This, in addition to the on-mound brilliance, is Skenes' superpower. His focus, his commitment to competing, his off-field demeanor — it's all phenomenally contagious. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts, a man who has seen a ballgame or two, gushed about Skenes' competitiveness before Tuesday's game.

"He's one of the tougher makeup competitor guys that I've been around," he said.

That type of energy raises the bar and the floor for all things Pirates. That is why, despite a rain-soaked, embarrassing defeat in a game that should have been an invigorator, things are looking up in Pittsburgh.

Or at least, they aren't looking down. And for this woebegone franchise, that's a step in the right direction.

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