The Chicago Cubs have had the most opportunities of any team against Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes, facing him six times out of his 38 career starts. With the familiarity, they have managed to put together a solid game plan when seeing him on the mound, which this year has resulted in them doing one thing that nobody has.
Paul Skenes has faced the Chicago Cubs six times throughout his young career
Last year Skenes made his MLB debut against the Cubs, going four innings, allowing six hits, and surrendering three home runs. He then faced Chicago again six days later, but tossed six innings of no-hit baseball while punching out 11 batters.
After those two outings, Skenes matched up against Chicago in back-to-back starts at the end of August and early September 2024. In those contests he covered five innings each. Skenes has then seen the Cubs twice in 2025, which has resulted in Chicago doing one thing to him that nobody else has done this year.
The Cubs are doing one thing nobody else can against Paul Skenes
Entering play on June 14, Skenes has tossed the second most innings of any pitcher, trailing Garrett Crochet of the Red Sox by just 0.1 innings pitched. With Skenes high innings total, he has frequently worked deep into games. However, against the Cubs this has not been the case.
This year, through two appearances, Chicago has chased Skenes from the game after just 5.0 innings pitched each time. On May 4 he gave up five hits, four walks, and three earned runs on 86 pitches against the Cubs, and on June 13 he was removed after 96 pitches where he gave up four hits and two walks. These two outings mark the only times in 2025 that he has not pitched beyond 5.0 innings.
Whether it’s the Cubs having seen Skenes more than anyone else, their game plan, or the deeper/improved lineup this year, it’s clear Chicago has figured out a way to increase Skenes’ pitch count and not allow him to work deep into games.
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