Pirates bats, Paul Skenes overwhelm Diamondbacks en route to series win

Noah Hiles, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on May 28, 2025

Published in Baseball

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PHOENIX — Fresh off of their most thrilling victory of the season Tuesday evening, the Pittsburgh Pirates kept their positive momentum rolling Wednesday afternoon, blowing out the Arizona Diamondbacks by a final score of 10-1 at Chase Field. The win secured just their second road series victory of the season.

Paul Skenes continued his dominance, delivering his fifth straight quality start. However, unlike in his recent efforts, Skenes received notable run support, allowing him to earn his first win since April 25. The victory improved his record to 4-5. Diamondbacks starter Zac Gallen suffered the loss, falling to 3-7 on the year.

For the second straight game, it was Henry Davis who got the Pirates offense going, this time bringing home Alexander Canario with an RBI single in the top of the second. The knock was one of two for Davis on Wednesday afternoon, marking his third multi-hit effort in his last six games.

The Pirates added two more runs to their credit thanks to a Diamondbacks fielding blunder in the top of the fifth. With the bases loaded and no outs, Oneil Cruz smacked a quick hopper to second baseman Jordan Lawlar. Knowing Cruz’s speed, Lawlar rushed his throw to second base and it sailed into left field, allowing a pair of runs to score.

Pittsburgh failed to take further advantage of that opportunity but made up for it in the next inning by plating five runs in the top of the sixth. Ke’Bryan Hayes plated the first run in that frame, singling home Spencer Horwitz, who led things off with a walk.

After a quick Diamondbacks pitching change, Isiah Kiner-Falefa busted the game wide open with a double to right field that scored both Davis and Hayes. Andrew McCutchen later plated Kiner-Falefa with a groundout to third base. The fifth and final run in that inning came on a triple from Bryan Reynolds, which scored Jared Triolo, who reached earlier on an infield single.

Don Kelly’s club continued to pile on in the late going. Cruz made the score 10-0 with a two-run homer to right field, scoring Kiner-Falefa. The Diamondbacks tallied their lone run in the bottom of the ninth, when Tim Tawa tagged Ryan Borucki for a leadoff homer. The 10-1 win was the Pirates’ most lopsided victory of the season.

It was over when ...

Kiner-Falefa doubled down the first-base line to make the score 6-0. Those runs closed the book on Gallen, who surrendered six hits and three walks while striking out three.

On the mound

Skenes had little trouble against the Diamondbacks lineup, allowing four hits over 6 2/3 scoreless innings. He struck out seven batters and walked none. The outing was his first scoreless effort of the year, dropping his ERA to 2.15 on the season.

At the plate

Kiner-Falefa led the charge for the Pirates, going 3 for 4 with a pair of doubles, along with two RBIs and two runs scored. Davis and Triolo also had multi-hit efforts. In total, the Pirates tallied 10 hits, five more than Arizona.

Most valuable player

Skenes, who finished the month of May with a 1.91 ERA over six outings.

Up next

The Pirates will be off Thursday before starting a three-game series over the weekend in San Diego. Mitch Keller (1-6, 3.66) will start Friday’s contest, which is scheduled for 9:40 p.m. ET. The Padres’ starter has not been named.

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