Skenes’ victory drought ends with solid outing
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PITTSBURGH -- Paul Skenes pitched 5 1/3 scoreless innings for his first win since July 19 and Henry Davis hit a home run to lead the Pittsburgh Pirates over the Los Angeles Angels 1-0 on Sunday.
Skenes (10-11) gave up four hits, struck out two and walked one. The 2025 NL Cy Young Award winner had gone seven consecutive outings without a win since beating Cleveland in his first start after the All-Star break.
"If balls were landing, it would probably be a little bit harder," Skenes said about having only two strikeouts. "But they weren't really landing, so they were making plays behind me. Strikeouts are a little cooler than a ground ball somewhere, but at the end of the day, an out is an out. So, just gotta take it and move on to the next guy."
Gregory Soto, Carmen Mlodzinski, Camilo Doval and Mason Montgomery finished the five-hitter. Montgomery earned his 10th save.
It marked the first time Skenes faced the Angels, the team he grew up rooting for in Orange County.
Davis pulled a home run down the left-field line in the third inning, his ninth of the season, off Walbert Urena (9-10), who was a tough-luck loser while pitching his first career complete game and the Angels' first of the season.
Urena, a rookie, allowed only one run and three hits with four strikeouts and one walk in eight innings. Brandon Lowe had two of the hits.
Skenes also got a big play from the Pirates' defense in the fifth inning when Zach Neto was thrown out trying to score the tying run from first base on Mike Trout's two-out double. Second baseman Lowe's relay throw from center fielder Oneil Cruz cut down Neto.
The Pirates took two of three games from the Angels to win four straight series for the first time since 2024. The Halos lost for 11th time in 13 games.
"Just trying to keep the line moving," Skenes said. "We played two good series here. Set ourselves up for a couple good series in Chicago, and take it one game at a time. We're going to end up wherever we're supposed to, as long as we play our game. So we have a good opportunity, and just got to take advantage of it."
Saturday's game
Yusei Kikuchi pitched six scoreless innings and earned his first win of the season as the Angels beat the Pirates 6-1 on Saturday night.
Kikuchi (1-5) allowed five hits and three walks while striking out six in his third start since returning Aug. 23 from left shoulder inflammation that kept him out since late April. The 35-year-old two-time All-Star last won in his final start last season, giving up one run in five innings as the Angels topped the Royals 3-2 on Sept. 24, 2025.
Pirates starter Braxton Ashcraft (14-6) struck out nine, but allowed three runs on seven hits in five innings. The 26-year-old right-hander struck out seven while allowing one hit through 3 1/3 innings before Wade Meckler doubled into shallow left field with one out in the fourth. Moises Ballesteros hit a sharp two-out single under the glove of second baseman Nick Gonzales, scoring Meckler from second.
Josh Lowe led off the fifth with a 410-foot shot to center field for his 11th homer of the season. Denzer Guzman followed with a single to left, moved to second on Adam Frazier's sacrifice bunt and extended the lead to 3-0 by scoring on the first of Neto's three singles.
Esmerlyn Valdez walked and Bryan Reynolds singled to start the sixth for Pittsburgh. Kikuchi then struck out Cruz, forced Gonzales into a force out and erased the threat by getting Rafael Flores Jr. to fly out to center.
The Angels tacked on three runs in the seventh. Trout hit an RBI single through the left side of the infield and Meckler drove in two more with a double to right-center.
Reynolds hit a two-out home run, his 16th of the season and first since July 28. It was a 421-foot shot over the right-field wall in the eighth for the Pirates' lone run.
Up next
Pirates: Off today, then open a three-game series against the AL Central-leading White Sox on Tuesday night in Chicago, with RHP Bubba Chandler (6-9, 4.03) facing RHP Sean Burke (8-6, 3.20).