Paul Skenes controlled the game from the first pitch. The Pirates right-hander struck out 10 batters over eight scoreless innings, allowing just two hits without a walk as Pittsburgh defeated Colorado 3-1 at PNC Park.
Skenes went 8.0 innings with 10 strikeouts and no earned runs, improving to 6-2 with a 2.16 ERA. He threw 98 pitches, needing just 24 outs to complete his dominant outing. The performance marked another step forward for the young ace.
Pittsburgh built its lead gradually. Gonzales singled to right in the first inning, scoring Cruz to open the scoring. Lowe singled to right in the fifth, bringing Cruz home again for a 2-0 advantage. Reynolds reached on an infield single in the seventh, allowing Griffin to score and extending the lead to 3-0.
Michael Lorenzen struggled for Colorado, allowing 2 runs over 5.0 innings with 5 hits, 2 walks and 5 strikeouts. He fell to 2-5 with a 6.55 ERA. Gregory Soto allowed Goodman's ninth-inning double that scored Beck, but preserved the victory for his fourth save.
Pittsburgh snapped a losing streak to improve to 22-19. Colorado extended its losing streak to two games and fell to 16-25. Bryan Reynolds is 10 games away from 1,000 career games played.