One swing decided everything. Paul Skenes made sure it was enough.
Skenes threw eight scoreless innings, allowing just two hits while striking out seven, as Pittsburgh defeated Arizona 1-0 at Chase Field. The right-hander walked none over 97 pitches, earning his fifth win of the season. Carrying a 2.57 ERA, Skenes controlled the strike zone from the first pitch.
Brandon Lowe homered to center field in the first inning, a 435-foot blast that gave Pittsburgh the only run it would need. Lowe finished 2-for-4 with one RBI, his ninth home run of the season.
Michael Soroka matched Skenes for most of the night, allowing one run on seven hits over 6.1 innings. The Arizona starter struck out six and walked two, taking his second loss of the season. His ERA stands at 4.14. Gregory Soto closed out the ninth inning for his second save, striking out one and walking one.
Pittsburgh snapped a one-game losing streak and improved to 19-17. Arizona fell to 17-17 after winning their previous game.