Paul Skenes, Pirates crushed by Cubs in front of sellout crowd

Colin Beazley, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Jul 25, 2026

Published in Baseball

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PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates’ matchup with the Chicago Cubs on Saturday evening had a big game feel, with fans lining up across the Roberto Clemente Bridge hours before the game to see a matchup of wild-card hopefuls, to watch Paul Skenes pitch, and to collect a Dr. Robby bobblehead.

Those same fans began the unhappy walk across the bridge as early as the sixth inning.

The Cubs hammered the Pirates and their ace, winning 11-0 at PNC Park behind a five-run sixth, a four-hit game from Pete Crow-Armstrong and six shutout innings from Shota Imanaga.

By the ninth inning, mostly Cubs fans were left from a sellout crowd of 39,105, the highest PNC Park attendance since July 20, 2024.

The Pirates have now lost the first two games of an important, pre-trade deadline homestand, as well as four of the last five. They are 53-52, two games behind the Arizona Diamondbacks for the final wild-card spot.

The first four innings were a pitcher’s duel between Skenes and Imanaga. Failed Skenes pickoffs led to two threats for the Cubs, but strikeouts got him out of it. He ended up striking out a season-high 11 batters in 5 1/3 innings.

Things began to unravel in the fifth. Facing the bottom of the Cubs’ lineup, Skenes allowed four consecutive hits, including an RBI double to Crow-Armstrong and a two-run single to Seiya Suzuki. Two strikeouts ended the frame.

Chicago broke the game open in the sixth. Skenes started the inning on 92 pitches, but allowed a Nico Hoerner single and walked Pedro Ramirez before he was pulled. He threw 105 pitches, the second-most he’s thrown this year.

Isaac Mattson couldn’t strand either runner. He retired just one of the six batters he faced, allowing four hits and a walk, and wasn’t able to complete the frame. Ron Marinaccio made his Pirates debut and got the final out before allowing a two-run, Crow-Armstrong homer in the seventh.

Catcher Shawn Ross made his major league debut in the ninth inning, playing first base. Tyler Callihan pitched the final frame. He was the only Pirates reliever to post a zero.

It was over when …

Any lead felt decisive with Imanaga on the mound, but the sixth inning eliminated any doubt.

Imanaga went into the game with a 0.28 lifetime ERA against the Pirates and managed to lower it. In 38 innings spanning six starts, he has allowed just one run (a 0.24 ERA).

On the mound

Skenes allowed five earned runs on six hits, two walks and a hit batter in 5 1/3 innings. He also drew 22 whiffs.

Five hits and a walk came in the fifth and sixth innings. In the fifth, when the Cubs strung together four hits, it largely came on well-located pitches.

Dansby Swanson singled on a two-strike sweeper low and outside the zone; Miguel Amaya singled on an outside, two-strike fastball that just nicked the plate; then Crow-Armstrong crushed a two-strike sweeper that was below the zone. The only mistake was to Suzuki, yet that fastball in the zone was softly hit.

The Cubs scored eight runs against the Pirates bullpen, scoring against Mattson, Marinaccio and Brandon Eisert.

At the plate

Imanaga allowed four hits and a walk, striking out four. All four hits were singles.

Marcell Ozuna went 0 for 3, dropping his batting average back to .200. He was booed by the sellout crowd after grounding back to the pitcher in the seventh.

The Pirates have been shut out twice in their last three games. Over their last four, they’ve scored just four runs without the aid of the automatic, extra-inning runner.

Bucs Bites

— Spencer Horwitz continued his rehab assignment at Low-A Bradenton on Saturday, going 1 for 2 with a solo homer, a walk, a hit by pitch and two runs scored. Speaking pregame, manager Don Kelly was not sure whether Horwitz would need rehab games at Triple-A Indianapolis or Double-A Altoona before returning.

— Right-hander Chris Devenski pitched a scoreless inning in the same game, though he allowed a single and a walk. It was his first affiliated pitching appearance since May 2.

— Henry Davis went 3 for 3 on defensive challenges.

Up next

The Pirates will look to avoid being swept on Sunday afternoon at 1:35 p.m. ET. All-Star right-hander Braxton Ashcraft (9-4, 3.95 ERA) will pitch for the Pirates, looking to snap a four-start slump against Cubs right-hander Jameson Taillon (2-5, 5.38).

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