<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/pittsburgh-pirates/pirates-news-paul-skenes-has-jokes-after-gq-photoshoot-with-livvy-dunne');   ga('set', 'title', 'Pirates’ Paul Skenes has all the jokes after GQ photoshoot with Livvy Dunne');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Paul-Skenes.jpg"><figcaption>Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><h1>Pirates’ Paul Skenes has all the jokes after GQ photoshoot with Livvy Dunne</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-04-03T09:09:18-07:00">April 3rd, 9:09am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-04-03T09:09:18-07:00">April 3rd, 9:09am</time><address><a>Malik Brown</a>Malik Brown is a multimedia reporter based in Atlanta who covers the Hawks and Dream for ClutchPoints. Malik has worked in entertainment and sports, and he specializes in the NBA and NFL.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Pittsburgh Pirates’ second-year pitcher <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/pirates-news-paul-skenes-earning-serious-trust-mlb-world">Paul Skenes seems to be a hot commodity</a> on and off the diamond, and that was evident after GQ magazine published a story about him and his girlfriend, Livvy Dunne, who is a popular gymnast at Louisiana State University.</p><p>Not only did the story cover angles of the relationship as far as how they met, and how they manage to keep the spark with work, school, and social media, but they were also able to show off their style in the photoshoot. Funny enough, Skenes <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DH9_L_TOaVA/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link" rel="noopener">had an honest realization</a> about GQ.</p><p>“I’m gonna get some flack in the locker room, I didn’t know what GQ was until the offer,” Skenes said. “Did you guys think I looked good?”</p><p>Luckily for Skenes, he doesn’t get paid to keep up with magazines, but he does get paid to be a good pitcher. He’s coming off a rookie season where he went 11-3 with a 1.96 ERA. He was <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/phillies-news-zack-wheeler-predicted-paul-skenes-nl-cy-young">named the NL Rookie of the Year</a> and finished third in NL Cy Young voting.</p><p>He recently just led the Pirates to a 4-2 win against the Tampa Bay Rays where he recorded six strikeouts without a walk in seven innings.</p><p>Skenes spoke about how Dunne has <a href="https://www.gq.com/story/why-the-algorithm-loves-livvy-dunne-and-paul-skenes" rel="noopener">helped him to embrace</a> the spotlight while still playing at a high level.</p><p>“I view it as, it’s not my job to take pictures with these people, it’s my job to throw, and them wanting to take pictures is getting in the way of that,” Skenes said via GQ. “But she always handles everything very well — she’s very comfortable to be around for other people who come up and ask to talk, that kind of thing.”</p><p>It’s good to have somebody supportive of you as Skenes has with Dunnes, and she probably makes his job easier.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Pirates’ Paul Skenes has all the jokes after GQ photoshoot with Livvy Dunne

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/pittsburgh-pirates/pirates-paul-skenes-makes-eye-popping-mlb-history-after-dominant-start-vs-rays');   ga('set', 'title', 'Pirates’ Paul Skenes makes eye-popping MLB history after dominant start vs. Rays');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Pirates-news-Paul-Skenes-makes-eye-popping-MLB-history-after-dominant-start-vs-Rays.jpg"></figure><h1>Pirates’ Paul Skenes makes eye-popping MLB history after dominant start vs. Rays</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-04-02T21:41:51-07:00">April 2nd, 9:41pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-04-02T21:55:23-07:00">April 2nd, 9:55pm</time><address><a>Matty Breisch</a>Matty Breisch is a Senior Editor who specializes in NFL and WWE content at ClutchPoints. He can be read at Heavy, FanSided, The Needle Drop, Philadelphia Sports Network, and right here at ClutchPoints. Are you ready to read about football and wrestling? Well, you've come to the right place.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>While the Pittsburgh Pirates aren’t very good in 2025, with the team sitting not-so-pretty with a 2-5 record in the National League Central Division, one of the lone bright spots of the season so far has been<a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/pirates-news-paul-skenes-earning-serious-trust-mlb-world"> the play of Paul Skenes</a>, the first overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft.</p><p>Working his way up through the minor leagues at a feverish pace, Skenes made his MLB debut in 2024 and has been the focal point of the Pirates’ rotation ever since, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/how-paul-skenes-pitched-for-pirates-in-first-opening-day-start">earning the opening day start</a> for his efforts as a rookie.</p><p>And with 25 appearances at the MLB level officially on the books, Skenes’ accomplishments have begun to be judged against the annals of baseball history and <a href="https://x.com/Pirates/status/1907595313625321520" rel="noopener">they look darn good</a>, as the Pirates shared on their social media account.</p><p>In 2024, Skenes was one of the true focal points of the 2025 MLB season, with the rookie earning an 11-3 record with a WAR of 5.9 on his way to an All-Star selection, a spot in the Cy Young conversation, and the Rookie of the Year award. Though he’s yet to record a win in 2025, Skenes has played just as well, allowing just three hits and two runs in his lone start so far.</p><p>Will the Pirates be able to showcase Skenes’ talents to the MLB world over the next few months, highlighting that they might just have the best pitching prospect under the age of 25 in the world? From a winning perspective, probably not, but considering how effective he’s been on the mound so far during his professional career, Skenes’ starts might just become appointment viewing for baseball lovers, as he may become a Cy Young winner before his rookie contract comes to an end.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Paul Skenes is the first pitcher since earned runs became an official statistic to post a sub-2.00 ERA with 175+ strikeouts over their first 25 MLB appearances. <a href="https://t.co/mYn7LnJrnO">pic.twitter.com/mYn7LnJrnO</a></p><p>— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) <a href="https://twitter.com/Pirates/status/1907595313625321520?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 3, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Pirates’ Paul Skenes makes eye-popping MLB history after dominant start vs. Rays

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/pittsburgh-pirates/pirates-news-pittsburgh-shockingly-options-2-time-all-star-triple-a');   ga('set', 'title', 'Pirates shockingly option 2-time All-Star to Triple-A');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Pirates-David-Bednar.jpeg"></figure><h1>Pirates shockingly option 2-time All-Star to Triple-A</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-04-01T13:55:15-07:00">April 1st, 1:55pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-04-01T14:27:14-07:00">April 1st, 2:27pm</time><address><a>Scotty White</a>Scotty White is a graduate of the University of Michigan and has been in the sports journalism industry since 2020. He has covered athletics at the University of Michigan and is now serving as an Associate Editor, Chicago Bulls beat writer, and Michigan football reporter at ClutchPoints.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Pittsburgh Pirates <a href="https://x.com/ByRobertMurray/status/1907157995966148935" rel="noopener">made some roster moves</a> on Tuesday, and they are surprisingly sending relief pitcher David Bednar down to Triple-A. Bednar is a two-time All-Star and he has spent seven seasons in MLB. Bednar has <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/pittsburgh-pirates/pirates-news-paul-skenes-earning-serious-trust-mlb-world">been with the Pirates</a> since 2021, and he has been a good option out of the bullpen. He has a 3.45 career ERA, but he is off to a rough start this season as he has given up three runs in three appearances.</p><p>“Sources: The Pirates are optioning closer David Bednar to Triple-A,” Robert Murray said in a post. “Bednar, who made the All-Star team in 2022 and 2023, struggled in 2024 and has allowed three earned runs in three appearances this season.”</p><p>The Pirates <a href="https://x.com/Pirates/status/1907158116178804822" rel="noopener">are adding</a> pitcher Thomas Harrington to the roster, and catcher Jason Delay has been designated for assignment to help make room.</p><p>“We have selected the contract of RHP Thomas Harrington to the 26-man Major League roster,” the Pirates said in a post. “C Jason Delay has been designated for assignment to make room on the 40-man roster, and RHP David Bednar has been optioned to Triple-A Indianapolis to make room on the 26-man active roster.”</p><p>David Bednar has been with the Pirates for almost his entire career, but he did spend his first two MLB seasons with the San Diego Padres. Bednar had an ERA below 2.65 in each of his first three seasons with the Pirates, but he finished last season at 5.77 after giving up 37 earned runs in 62 games.</p><p>After the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/miami-marlins/marlins-news-marlins-rookie-kyle-stowers-electric-1st-walk-off-2025-vs-pirates">rough start to the season, the Pirates have decided to send Bednar down</a>. It is a bit of a surprising move, but a stint in Triple-A could be exactly what Bednar needs to get his groove back. It will be interesting to see how he does in Indianapolis and if he can quickly work his way back to Pittsburgh.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Pirates shockingly option 2-time All-Star to Triple-A

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/pittsburgh-pirates/pirates-news-paul-skenes-earning-serious-trust-mlb-world');   ga('set', 'title', 'Pirates ace Paul Skenes already earning serious trust around MLB world');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Paul-Skenes-already-earning-serious-trust-around-MLB-world-.jpg"></figure><h1>Pirates ace Paul Skenes already earning serious trust around MLB world</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-28T09:28:29-07:00">March 28th, 9:28am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-28T09:28:29-07:00">March 28th, 9:28am</time><address><a>Preston Byers</a>Preston Byers is an experienced writer and journalist who currently serves as an associate editor for ClutchPoints and as a staff writer at The Vindicator and Tribune Chronicle, where he covers sports in the Mahoning Valley. Previously, Preston worked as an associate editor for Dot Esports and a site expert for FanSided's Union and Blue.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Despite entering only his second season in MLB, Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes is highly thought of among MLB players, fans, and media members.</p><p>Skenes’ dominant rookie season turned heads, and although he is just 22 years old and has fewer than 25 games in the majors and zero in the playoffs, most executives and scouts polled by ESPN for its 2025 season survey chose Skenes as the pitcher <a href="https://www.espn.com/mlb/insider/story/_/id/44414613/2025-mlb-season-survey-baseball-insiders-predict-breakouts-trades-ohtani-skenes-red-sox-braves-phillies" rel="noopener">they would most</a> trust in a must-win game.</p><p>The second-year pitcher earned eight of the 17 votes, beating out the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/philadelphia-phillies/phillies-news-zack-wheeler-predicted-paul-skenes-nl-cy-young">Philadelphia Phillies’ Zack Wheeler</a> (3), Atlanta Braves’ Spencer Strider and Chris Sale (2 and 2), and Detroit Tigers’ Tarik Skubal (2).</p><p>“I’m only picking Skenes because he doesn’t look or act anything like a 22-year-old pitcher,” said an NL executive, via ESPN’s Jesse Rogers. “Even without the experience, I’d take him for one game.”</p><p>An AL executive said Skenes “wasn’t a hard pick.”</p><p>Last year, Skenes finished third in <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/pittsburgh-pirates/pirates-news-paul-skenes-pick-nl-cy-young-award">the NL Cy Young Award </a>voting, only behind Wheeler and winner Sale, both of whom comprised all of the first-place votes. Skenes was the most popular third-place votegetter and received one second-place vote.</p><p>Skenes, the No. 1 overall selection in the 2023 MLB Draft, was expected to be good. After all, he had powered LSU to a national championship that year with a furious fastball, which helped him go 13-2 with an ERA of 1.69 and 209 strikeouts, the latter of which broke both LSU and SEC records. However, most did not think Skenes could be as good as quickly as he proved himself to be.</p><p>While Skenes’ debut, a four-inning outing, did not get to show his full potential, his second appearance was dazzling. On May 17, Skenes allowed zero hits, walked one, and struck out 11 against the Chicago Cubs. Skenes, who similarly no-hit the Milwaukee Brewers in seven innings pitched on July 11, had an unblemished record for the most two months of his MLB career, during which he had a 1.90 ERA.</p><p>Unsurprisingly, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/pittsburgh-pirates/how-paul-skenes-pitched-for-pirates-in-first-opening-day-start">Skenes was named the Pirates’ Opening Day starter</a>, making him the fastest No. 1 pick to achieve the honor, and in the season debut, he struck out seven and allowed two earned runs over 5.1 innings. When Skenes exited the game, Pittsburgh led 4-1. One of the runners he left on base scored after he was replaced, and the Pirates two runs in the eighth and another in the ninth to lose 5-4 to the Miami Marlins.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Pirates ace Paul Skenes already earning serious trust around MLB world

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/miami-marlins/marlins-news-marlins-rookie-kyle-stowers-electric-1st-walk-off-2025-vs-pirates');   ga('set', 'title', 'Marlins rookie Kyle Stowers delivers electric 1st walk off of 2025 vs. Pirates');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Marlins-news-Kyle-Stowers-delivers-electric-1st-walk-off-of-2025-vs-Pirates.jpg"></figure><h1>Marlins rookie Kyle Stowers delivers electric 1st walk off of 2025 vs. Pirates</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-28T01:10:59-07:00">March 28th, 1:10am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-28T01:10:59-07:00">March 28th, 1:10am</time><address><a>Brayden Haena</a>Brayden Haena is an Associate Editor at ClutchPoints. He's a die-hard San Francisco Giants fan and a football fanatic. In addition to sports writing, he works for Arizona Football in the Player Personnel and Recruiting department and formerly served as the Defensive Coordinator for Heritage High School.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Miami Marlins</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The<a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/nationals-news-how-nationals-mackenzie-gore-bob-gibson-mlb-history-opening-day"> 2025 MLB season wasted no time bringing the drama</a>. On Opening Day at loanDepot park, Miami Marlins rookie Kyle Stowers etched his name into the early-season highlight reel with a <a href="https://x.com/mlb/status/1905398436448665930?s=46&amp;t=vnLDgTn4yNZudl1UzUUjJA" rel="noopener">walk-off single</a> in the bottom of the ninth inning, giving Miami a 5-4 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates and spoiling Paul Skenes’ first Opening Day start.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Kyle Stowers delivers the first walk-off of the 2025 season! <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OpeningDay?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#OpeningDay</a> <a href="https://t.co/zUuXcGdJN5">pic.twitter.com/zUuXcGdJN5</a></p><p>— MLB (@MLB) <a href="https://twitter.com/MLB/status/1905398436448665930?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 27, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Stowers, acquired in the offseason and making his Marlins debut, came through in a big spot. After Pirates closer David Bednar allowed a leadoff triple to Nick Fortes and issued an intentional walk to Xavier Edwards, Stowers ripped a line drive into right field. Pinch-runner Javier Sanoja raced home to seal the Marlins’ first win and give new manager Clayton McCullough a victory in his debut.</p><p>“That was a great team win,” McCullough said postgame. “Kyle came through with a huge swing, and it’s always fun to start the season with that kind of moment.”</p><h2><b>Kyle Stowers comes up clutch for the Marlins on Opening Day</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Kyle-Stowers.jpg"><figcaption>Sam Navarro-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>It was a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/how-paul-skenes-pitched-for-pirates-in-first-opening-day-start">back-and-forth affair that featured a duel between Skenes</a>, the reigning NL Rookie of the Year, and Marlins ace Sandy Alcantara, returning from Tommy John surgery. Alcantara touched 99.6 mph in the first inning and struck out seven but also issued four walks over 4 2/3 innings.</p><p>Skenes, meanwhile, worked 5 1/3 innings, striking out seven and allowing just three hits, though two walks in his final frame contributed to a Marlins rally. The Pirates carried a 4-2 lead into the bottom of the eighth after a two-run homer by Nick Gonzales in the sixth. But Pittsburgh’s bullpen – a known weak spot in 2024 – faltered late. Stowers drew a walk to lead off the eighth and scored on an Otto Lopez RBI single.</p><p>Dane Myers followed with a game-tying hit to even the score at 4-4. In the ninth, Fortes set the stage with a leadoff triple. Edwards followed with a walk and promptly stole second to remove the double-play possibility. That brought up Stowers, who didn’t miss his opportunity.</p><p>“Just wanted to keep it simple,” Stowers said. “Put a good swing on something in the zone. Felt great to help the team win.”</p><p>Despite the Pirates’ bullpen collapse, Skenes flashed his ace potential. His fastball reached 99.9 mph, and he racked up 16 swings and misses across 94 pitches. But Miami’s offense outlasted Pittsburgh’s arms, capitalizing late. Jesús Tinoco (1-0) earned the win after escaping a ninth-inning jam with two runners on, striking out Joey Bart to keep the game tied. Bednar (0-1) took the loss for Pittsburgh. The clubs meet again Friday for Game 2 of the season-opening four-game set. But it’s Stowers’ moment that will be remembered — the first walk-off of 2025, and possibly the first of many in his career.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Marlins rookie Kyle Stowers delivers electric 1st walk off of 2025 vs. Pirates

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/celebrity/pirates-news-pirates-bryan-reynolds-ryan-reynolds-team-up-hilarious-opening-day-video');   ga('set', 'title', 'Pirates star Bryan Reynolds, Ryan Reynolds team up for hilarious Opening Day video');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Bryan-Reynolds-Ryan-Reynolds-team-up-for-hilarious-Opening-Day-video_16x9.jpg"></figure><h1>Pirates star Bryan Reynolds, Ryan Reynolds team up for hilarious Opening Day video</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-28T00:33:46-07:00">March 28th, 12:33am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-28T00:33:46-07:00">March 28th, 12:33am</time><address><a>Brayden Haena</a>Brayden Haena is an Associate Editor at ClutchPoints. He's a die-hard San Francisco Giants fan and a football fanatic. In addition to sports writing, he works for Arizona Football in the Player Personnel and Recruiting department and formerly served as the Defensive Coordinator for Heritage High School.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Celebrity</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Baseball met Aviation Gin — and some seriously awkward sports lingo — thanks to a new MLB Opening Day spot starring actor Ryan Reynolds and <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/pirates-news-bryan-reynolds-fires-back-cubs-manager-david-ross">Pittsburgh Pirates outfielder Bryan Reynolds.</a> The commercial, released in celebration of Opening Day on March 27, is a playful jab at Ryan Reynolds’ limited baseball knowledge, despite his attempt to express love for the game. Known more for his soccer fandom — he co-owns Wrexham A.F.C. in Wales — Reynolds leans into the comedy of being out of his element.</p><p>“Happy opening match everyone,” Ryan says confidently in the ad, prompting an immediate deadpan stare from Bryan Reynolds, who’s clearly unimpressed.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">Happy Opengin Day <a href="https://t.co/j1oba1KCBf">pic.twitter.com/j1oba1KCBf</a></p><p>— Ryan Reynolds (@VancityReynolds) <a href="https://twitter.com/VancityReynolds/status/1905257275951824960?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 27, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>The ad spirals into more humorous misfires. Ryan casually drops phrases like “triple play” and “nothing but net,” clearly mixing up his sports metaphors. At one point, Bryan, holding a bat and trying to stay composed, asks, “Has Ryan ever seen baseball?” The dynamic between the two Reynoldses — sharing almost identical names but clearly not the same understanding of the game — makes the commercial an instant hit for fans of baseball and humor alike. Bryan’s signature deadpan delivery contrasts perfectly with Ryan’s over-the-top charm and cluelessness, creating a spot that’s both cringe-worthy and hilarious in all the right ways.</p><h2><b>Could the Pirates star become a star actor after his baseball career?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Bryan-Reynolds-Ryan-Reynolds-team-up-for-hilarious-Opening-Day-video-v2_16x9.jpg"><figcaption>Sam Navarro-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>To top off the campaign, Aviation American Gin is offering a fan promotion: $10 off a bottle of Aviation Gin. Fans can text AVIATION to 24272, upload proof of purchase, and once validated, receive $10 via Venmo or PayPal.</p><p>“Happy Opengin Day!” the campaign concludes — typo very much intentional, adding one last wink to the humor of it all.</p><p>While Ryan Reynolds continues to make waves in the entertainment and spirits industries, Bryan Reynolds is staying focused on the field. The Pirates outfielder is coming off a strong 2024 campaign, where he hit .275 with 24 home runs, 88 RBIs, and a .791 OPS. The two-time All-Star is a cornerstone of Pittsburgh’s future, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/pirates-news-bryan-reynolds-pittsburgh-agree-to-8-year-106-7-million-extension">having signed an eight-year, $106.75 million extension last April — the largest contract in franchise history.</a></p><p>Acquired in the 2018 trade that sent Andrew McCutchen to San Francisco, Reynolds has since become a fan favorite in Pittsburgh. Across six seasons, he’s compiled a .276 batting average, 122 home runs, and an .821 OPS, making him one of the most consistent and productive players in the National League.</p><p>The Pirates opened their season with a four-game road series against the Miami Marlins, with Reynolds once again expected to be a central figure in the team’s offense. For now, though, his off-field cameo with Ryan Reynolds is stealing some early-season spotlight — one awkward “opening match” at a time.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Pirates star Bryan Reynolds, Ryan Reynolds team up for hilarious Opening Day video

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/pittsburgh-pirates/how-paul-skenes-pitched-for-pirates-in-first-opening-day-start');   ga('set', 'title', 'How Paul Skenes pitched for Pirates in first Opening Day start');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Pirates-news-How-Paul-Skenes-pitched-in-first-Opening-Day-start.jpg"></figure><h1>How Paul Skenes pitched for Pirates in first Opening Day start</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-27T20:26:00-07:00">March 27th, 8:26pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-27T20:27:23-07:00">March 27th, 8:27pm</time><address><a>Brayden Haena</a>Brayden Haena is an Associate Editor at ClutchPoints. He's a die-hard San Francisco Giants fan and a football fanatic. In addition to sports writing, he works for Arizona Football in the Player Personnel and Recruiting department and formerly served as the Defensive Coordinator for Heritage High School.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>With sky-high expectations, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/pirates-news-paul-skenes-opening-day-starter-video">Paul Skenes entered his first Opening Day start</a> with a skull-and-crossbones tie, a nod to his Pirates pride and the swagger he’s brought to the mound since being drafted first overall in 2023. And despite the Pirates’ eventual 5-4 walk-off loss to the Marlins, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/pirates-news-paul-skenes-drops-legacy-message-that-will-hype-pittsburgh-fans">Skenes gave Pittsburgh exactly what they hoped for from their rising ace.</a></p><p>At just 22 years and 302 days old, Skenes became the youngest Opening Day starter in franchise history since 1893 and the youngest in MLB since José Fernández in 2014. He lived up to the billing with a performance that, by most measures, was dominant: 5.1 innings, two runs, three hits, <a href="https://x.com/MistrettaMLB/status/1905382376856756684" rel="noopener">two walks, and seven strikeouts</a> on 94 pitches.</p><p>“Pretty damn good start,” Skenes said afterward. “I got a little sloppy there at the end. Just gotta execute a little quicker in that sixth inning. Other than that, I was pretty happy with it.”</p><h2><b>Paul Skenes shines in Opening Day start, Pirates can’t hold the lead against Marlins</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Paul-Skenes_c6dd78.jpg"><figcaption>Sam Navarro-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Skenes wasted no time establishing control, striking out two of the first three batters he faced. He finished with 16 swings and misses, including seven on his signature “splinker,” six on fastballs, and three on changeups. His four-seam fastball touched 99.9 mph and accounted for four of his seven strikeouts.</p><p>“I think when you’re facing a guy like that, you kind of are in for a tough assignment,” Marlins outfielder Kyle Stowers said.</p><p>Skenes went toe-to-toe with 2022 NL Cy Young winner Sandy Alcantara in one of the most anticipated pitching matchups of Opening Day. Alcantara, returning from Tommy John surgery, struck out seven in 4.2 innings but labored more than Skenes, needing 28 pitches in the fifth inning alone. The Pirates capitalized when Bryan Reynolds drove in two runs with a single to center, giving Pittsburgh a 2-1 lead.</p><p>The Pirates extended that lead to 4-1 on a two-run homer by Nick Gonzales in the sixth, but that cushion disappeared late. Defensive miscues proved costly. Oneil Cruz misplayed a fly ball in the ninth, turning it into a triple, and later threw to home plate in the eighth rather than holding the tying run at first. Pittsburgh’s bullpen faltered, and the Marlins walked it off in the ninth.</p><p>“We didn’t play good enough defense,” manager Derek Shelton said. “We had opportunities. We didn’t close it down.”</p><p>While the loss was frustrating, Skenes’ outing was a bright spot. His pitch mix was electric, and his demeanor — calm, focused, and unflinching — set the tone for what the Pirates hope will be a breakout season. He now holds the record for fastest No. 1 overall pick to start on Opening Day, passing names like Mike Moore and Stephen Strasburg.</p><p>“It was a cool environment,” Skenes said. “A lot of energy in the building. Looking forward to next year.” If Thursday was any indication, Skenes will have plenty more Opening Day starts in his future — and perhaps, soon, wins to match.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

How Paul Skenes pitched for Pirates in first Opening Day start

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/pittsburgh-pirates/pirates-news-paul-skenes-drops-legacy-message-that-will-hype-pittsburgh-fans');   ga('set', 'title', 'Paul Skenes drops ‘legacy’ message that will hype Pirates fans');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Pirates-news-Paul-Skenes-drops-legacy-message-that-will-hype-Pittsburgh-fans.jpg"></figure><h1>Paul Skenes drops ‘legacy’ message that will hype Pirates fans</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-24T19:15:27-07:00">March 24th, 7:15pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-24T19:15:27-07:00">March 24th, 7:15pm</time><address><a href="https://letterboxd.com/splooshpuhrty/films/by/your-rating/">Jedd Pagaduan</a>Jedd Pagaduan is a certified Clippers and Gunners fan, which means he's a very sports-traumatized individual. He now writes about sports instead as a form of therapy.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Pittsburgh Pirates have been so starved of success over the past few decades; in the early 2010s, the Pirates had a bit of a good run going, but they never made it past the Division Series — with their biggest highlight since then being their rousing Wild Card game victory over the Cincinnati Reds. But with ace pitcher and reigning Rookie of the Year Paul Skenes leading a crop of very talented youngsters, the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/pittsburgh-pirates/mistrettas-mlb-musings-paul-skenes-cy-young-season-2025-yankees">Pirates’ fortunes look like they’re about to change</a>.</p><p>Skenes is hellbent on turning the Pirates franchise around. In an interview with Alex Stumpf of MLB.com, Skenes outlined his goals for the 2025 season — which includes getting the Pirates <a href="https://www.mlb.com/news/paul-skenes-focus-ahead-of-2025-season-with-pirates" rel="noopener">to the promised land</a> in an effort to give back to a passionate fanbase that has remained behind the team despite the lack of winning baseball over the past decade or so.</p><p>“I think we owe something to the city. We owe a lot to the city. It’s our job to go out and win for the city because this is bigger than all of us,” Skenes said.</p><p>For the talented 22-year-old ace, he is looking to re-establish the “legacy” of winning baseball that the Pirates franchise had. After all, this is a proud franchise that has five World Series championships to its name but hasn’t progressed beyond the Championship Series since 1993.</p><p>“We’ve got a legacy here. Got to keep it going. They left the jersey in a better spot than they found it. That’s what I’m trying to do, and what we’re all trying to do,” Skenes added.</p><p>With the Pirates having the services of Skenes for at least the next five years, Pittsburgh will have time to construct a winning roster around <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/pittsburgh-pirates/pirates-news-paul-skenes-learning-pitches-adding-2-more">one of the most talented young starting pitchers</a> the league has seen in a while.</p><h2><b>Paul Skenes wants to deliver winning baseball to Pirates fans</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Paul-Skenes-1.jpg"><figcaption>Brad Penner-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>The support the Pirates franchise has received hasn’t waned even though fans have taken issue to how the team is being run these days. And for Paul Skenes, getting that kind of support is special, and such a passionate fanbase deserves to root for a winning team.</p><p>“There’s a reason why [Andrew McCutchen] keeps coming back, and specifically to Pittsburgh. There’s something about this city. We saw it last summer. We’ve seen it in the videos of the Wild Card Game. I’m tired of watching them because it was a Wild Card Series. The bar needs to be set pretty high. Not taking anything from those guys. The fact that that’s a golden era of recent Pirates baseball, that needs to change. We owe it to the city,” Skenes said.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Paul Skenes drops ‘legacy’ message that will hype Pirates fans

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/philadelphia-phillies/phillies-news-zack-wheeler-predicted-paul-skenes-nl-cy-young');   ga('set', 'title', 'Phillies’ Zack Wheeler predicted to edge Paul Skenes for NL Cy Young');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Zack-Wheeler-predicted-to-edge-Paul-Skenes-for-NL-Cy-Young.jpg"></figure><h1>Phillies’ Zack Wheeler predicted to edge Paul Skenes for NL Cy Young</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-24T10:37:36-07:00">March 24th, 10:37am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-24T10:37:36-07:00">March 24th, 10:37am</time><address><a>Christopher Hennessy</a>Christopher Hennessy graduated with a journalism degree from Fordham University in 2022. He has also worked at Spectrum News One in Albany, New York and with The Hockey Writers as a New York Islanders writer. Chris is originally from Connecticut and is a lifelong New York Yankees, Islanders, and Jets fan.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Philadelphia Phillies and Pittsburgh Pirates both have high expectations coming into this season. For Philly, they <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/phillies-most-blame-embarrassing-nlds-loss-mets">won the National League East last year but lost to the rival Mets in the NLDS</a>. There is excitement around the Buccos because of their new star pitcher, Paul Skenes. In<a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6222015/2025/03/24/mlb-predictions-2025-world-series/?source=emp_shared_article" rel="noopener"> a preseason poll,</a> experts from The Athletic picked Philly’s Zack Wheeler to edge out Pittsburgh’s Paul Skenes for the National League Cy Young.</p><p>“Phillies ace Zack Wheeler is the reliable option. He’s twice finished as Cy Young Award runner-up, and he’s gotten down-ballot Cy Young Award votes in two other seasons,” Chad Jennings wrote. “Fourteen of our voters think this is the year he finally wins it. Paul Skenes is the young sensation coming off a Rookie of the Year season in which he started the All-Star Game and finished third in Cy voting. A dozen voters think his ascent to the top of the league is inevitable.”</p><p>The remainder of the votes are split among four pitchers. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/diamondbacks-news-corbin-burnes-decision-diamondbacks-free-agency">Corbin Burnes from the Diamondbacks</a> got four votes, and the Dodgers’ Tyler Glasnow, Braves’ Spencer Strider, and defending champion Chris Sale each got one vote. What has to happen for this prediction to come true?</p><h2><b>Can Phillies’ Zack Wheeler overcome the Paul Skenes hype?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Zack-Wheeler-with-Phillies.jpg"><figcaption>Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Last year, Skenes made his debut with the Pirates after just 12 minor league starts. With the hype of a number-one overall pick behind him, he put up one of the best pitching seasons in the National League. He edged out <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/pirates-news-paul-skenes-beats-jackson-merrill-nl-rookie-of-the-year">Jackson Merrill and Jackson Churio for the NL Rookie of the Year</a> title.</p><p>Despite the Pirates’ lack of offensive additions this year, many expect Skenes to take a big step forward. The team may struggle because of their offense but their pitching should be great. But at 23 years old, Skenes could go through some growing pains as he faces teams for the first time.</p><p>That is where Wheeler comes in, as the Phillies ace has been consistently great for a half-decade. Since he joined the Phillies in 2020, he has finished second in Cy Young voting twice, including last year. He lost the 2021 title to Burnes and last year’s to Sale.</p><p>There will be a lot of conversation about Skenes this year. His stuff is electric, his relationship grabs headlines, and the team could capture the fan’s imaginations this year. The momentum points to the youngster but a career full of high finishes points to the Phillies and Wheeler.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Phillies’ Zack Wheeler predicted to edge Paul Skenes for NL Cy Young

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/pittsburgh-pirates/mistrettas-mlb-musings-paul-skenes-cy-young-season-2025-yankees');   ga('set', 'title', 'Mistretta’s MLB Musings: Predicting Paul Skenes’ electrifying Cy Young season in 2025');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Mistrettas-Musings-Predicting-Paul-Skenes-electrifying-Cy-Young-season-in-2025.jpg"></figure><h1>Mistretta’s MLB Musings: Predicting Paul Skenes’ electrifying Cy Young season in 2025</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-24T08:38:28-07:00">March 24th, 8:38am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-24T12:34:04-07:00">March 24th, 12:34pm</time><address><a href="https://www.facebook.com/joey.mistretta/" rel="facebook">Joey Mistretta</a>Joey Mistretta is a Dallas Mavericks beat reporter, Dallas Wings beat reporter and lead MLB editor for ClutchPoints. He is originally from Lake Arrowhead, California. Mistretta graduated from Biola University with a degree in broadcast journalism.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Cleveland Guardians</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Hello everyone, welcome to the first edition of Mistretta’s MLB Musings. In my weekly column (published every Monday), we will be discussing news, analysis, opinions and more from around the MLB world. Today, let’s take a deep dive into Pittsburgh Pirates star pitcher <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/pirates-news-paul-skenes-drops-firm-take-pirates-2025-outlook">Paul Skenes’ chances of earning his first Cy Young award</a> in 2025.</p><h2><b>Paul Skenes’ time to shine</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Paul-Skenes-pitches-during-spring-training-2.jpg"><figcaption>Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/pirates-news-paul-skenes-opening-day-starter-video">Skenes was recently given the Pirates’ Opening Day starting pitcher honor</a>. He is the reigning National League Rookie of the Year winner, but there have been plenty of flame-throwing hurlers with potential in recent seasons. So why is Skenes different?</p><p>The 2023 first overall pick certainly throws the baseball hard. There is no denying that fact. What sets Skenes apart, though, is his ability to command the ball.</p><p>See, many young hard-throwing pitchers lack control on the mound. It’s anyone’s guess where the ball will end up once it leaves their hand. Skenes — much like a veteran painter — grabs his brush and dots the corners. He has the baseball on a string.</p><p>Don’t believe me? Well, let’s examine a recent scenario from spring training during a Pirates’ game against the Baltimore Orioles.</p><p><a href="https://x.com/MLB/status/1903495421311246437" rel="noopener">Video via</a> MLB:</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">This sequence from Paul Skenes to start the day is downright filthy 😱 <a href="https://t.co/4V1o0qd8VG">pic.twitter.com/4V1o0qd8VG</a></p><p>— MLB (@MLB) <a href="https://twitter.com/MLB/status/1903495421311246437?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 22, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>I want you to watch where the Pirates catcher places his glove, and then watch where the ball ends up.</p><p>The first fastball lands down and away from the left-handed hitter, which is exactly where the catcher placed his glove. The second, also a heater, is placed in the same location. Skenes then climbs the ladder and freezes Orioles slugger Colton Cowser with a high fastball.</p><p>Oh, and each pitch was at least 98 MPH. Yes, Paul Skenes is the real deal.</p><p>Sure, there are other pitchers with better command than Skenes. There aren’t many 22-year-olds who can throw absolute gas while painting the sides of the strike zone, though.</p><p>Skenes finished third in National League Cy Young voting a season ago, trailing only Zack Wheeler and 2024 NL Cy Young winner Chris Sale. Finishing third as a rookie suggests that Skenes is close to taking the next step and winning the award soon.</p><p>And I think he’s ready to take that step in 2025. Skenes wants to help the Pirates return to the postseason. He remains cool, calm and collected on the mound, but he also has the motivation to take care of business.</p><p>Pittsburgh still has some uncertainty on the roster, but Skenes is going to do everything he can to lead the Pirates back to contention during the ’25 campaign.</p><h2><b>What’s new in MLB world? Yankees can still compete despite injuries</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Gerrit-Cole-during-spring-training.jpg"><figcaption>Dave Nelson-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>The New York Yankees are already dealing with a plethora of injuries. Ace <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/yankees-news-gerrit-cole-miss-2025-season-tommy-john-surgery">Gerrit Cole is expected to miss the season due to Tommy John surgery</a>. Veteran designated hitter <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/yankees-news-giancarlo-stanton-injury-timeline-uncertain">Giancarlo Stanton is dealing with elbow injuries</a> and his injury timeline remains uncertain.</p><p>The Yankees have question marks to say the least, but this is a ball club that should not be counted out. Aaron Judge is one of the best players in the sport, while Cody Bellinger seems to be on the verge of a big campaign with his new team following his strong spring training.</p><p>Young players such as Jasson Dominguez and Austin Wells may also make an impact. New York’s bullpen will help matters. The rotation still features quality hurlers like Carlos Rodon and Max Fried.</p><p>It has become easy to doubt the Yankees given the injuries, but it would not be surprising to see them make another competitive run.</p><h2><b>More MLB news/analysis: Reunion in Cleveland?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Nolan-Jones-swings-a-bat-during-spring-training-game.jpg"><figcaption>Rick Scuteri-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>– In other news, the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/guardians-news-nearing-trade-rockies-reunite-with-outfielder">Cleveland Guardians recently traded infielder Tyler Freeman for outfielder Nolan Jones</a>. Jones was once a highly-regarded prospect with Cleveland, but was later moved to the Colorado Rockies. Now, Jones is set to return to the Guardians.</p><p>– Speaking of the Guardians, the team recently announced that Triston McKenzie will begin the season in the bullpen. In similar fashion to Jones, McKenzie was once a top prospect with the Guardians. Now, his future with Cleveland is fairly uncertain. Perhaps McKenzie can get back on track in a bullpen role.</p><p>– The Yankees <a href="https://x.com/ByRobertMurray/status/1904174639514865743" rel="noopener">agreed to</a> a contract with veteran left-handed pitcher Ryan Yarbrough on Monday, Robert Murray of FanSided reports. Yarbrough adds deception as a left-handed arm. He features both relief and starting experience, and he could prove to be an underrated addition for the injury-plagued Yankees.</p><p>– Ranger Suarez, an MLB All-Star in 2024 with the Philadelphia Phillies, is <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/philadelphia-phillies/phillies-news-phillies-all-star-pitcher-likely-start-season-on-il" rel="noopener">expected to begin the 2025 season on the injured list</a>. The team is hopeful Suarez can return sooner rather than later.</p><p>– Los Angeles Dodgers star Mookie Betts did not play in the Tokyo Series due to an illness. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/los-angeles-dodgers/dodgers-news-mookie-betts-weight-admission-amid-illness-dodgers-fans-concerned">Betts recently revealed that he is 20 pounds lighter</a> than his normal playing weight. There is increasing concern over the issue. The Dodgers will continue to closely monitor the situation.</p><p>– This next one is more of an opinion rather than news, but Seattle Mariners pitcher Logan Gilbert could emerge as an American League Cy Young contender in 2025. Much like Paul Skenes, Gilbert will pitch on Opening Day and his team clearly believes in his ceiling. Don’t be surprised if Gilbert enjoys a big season.</p><p>– A Boston <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/boston-red-sox/mlb-rumors-red-sox-garrett-crochet-contract-extension-harsh-reality">Red Sox-Garrett Crochet contract extension seems unlikely</a> to come to fruition before the 2025 campaign. Chris Cotillo of MassLive <a href="https://x.com/ChrisCotillo/status/1903251486022275576" rel="noopener">first reported the news</a>. Anything can happen, but Crochet is probably going to enter the regular season without an extension.</p><p>– Finally, let’s talk about the San Francisco Giants. Spring training standings don’t mean anything, but San Francisco does currently hold the best record in the Cactus League with a 19-6 mark. Perhaps the team’s strong spring will give them a boost of confidence in 2025. The Giants have played a rather mediocre brand of baseball in recent seasons (aside from that random incredible 2021 campaign), so San Francisco could unquestionably use a strong 2025 performance.</p><p><i>Joey Mistretta’s “Mistretta’s MLB Musings” provides the latest news and analysis from around the MLB world. Be sure to check in every Monday to read new editions of the weekly column. </i></p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Mistretta’s MLB Musings: Predicting Paul Skenes’ electrifying Cy Young season in 2025

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/pittsburgh-pirates/pirates-news-paul-skenes-message-top-prospect-opening-day-start');   ga('set', 'title', 'Paul Skenes reveals brash message from top prospect ahead of opening day start');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Paul-Skenes-reveals-brash-message-from-top-prospect-ahead-of-opening-day-start.jpg"></figure><h1>Paul Skenes reveals brash message from top prospect ahead of opening day start</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-19T20:17:34-07:00">March 19th, 8:17pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-19T20:17:34-07:00">March 19th, 8:17pm</time><address><a>Nathan Yasis</a>Nathan Yasis is an Associate Editor for ClutchPoints, specializing in the NBA.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Bubba Chandler, the 22-year-old Pirates pitching prospect, wasted no time responding to Paul Skenes securing Pittsburgh’s 2025 Opening Day start. With a playful but confident message, Chandler made it clear he’s aiming to take over that role by next season.</p><p>As soon as <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/pittsburgh-pirates/pirates-news-paul-skenes-opening-day-starter-video">Skenes’ Opening Day video surfaced</a>, Chandler <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/starkville-paul-skenes-talks-about-his-crazy-rookie/id1558220009?i=1000699791986" rel="noopener">shot him a message</a>: “It’s going to be a real bummer when you’re starting Day 2 next year.” A bold challenge? Perhaps. But it’s the kind of friendly rivalry that adds excitement to Pittsburgh’s rising rotation.</p><p>Skenes embraced the message, recognizing that competition from players like Chandler will only elevate the team. More than just friendly banter, Chandler’s challenge reflects the culture Pittsburgh is cultivating—one fueled by ambition, talent, and a relentless drive to improve.</p><p>Coming off a dominant rookie league season, Skenes has earned the nod as the Pirates’ Opening Day starter for 2025. He delivered an exceptional debut campaign, posting an 11-3 record, a 1.96 ERA, and racking up 170 strikeouts over just 133 innings. With numbers like that, Pittsburgh had little hesitation in handing him the ball to start the season.</p><h2><b>Paul Skenes and Bubba Chandler’s budding rivalry for the Pirates</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Pirates-Paul-Skenes-with-Bubba-Chandler.jpg"><figcaption>Kim Klement Neitzel-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Bubba Chandler, meanwhile, is one of the Pirates’ most promising pitching prospects. Originally a two-way player, he eventually committed to the mound full-time, where his powerful fastball and sharp breaking pitches have turned heads. Though he has yet to make his MLB debut, Chandler continues to climb the ranks, displaying both talent and confidence as he inches closer to the big leagues.</p><p>The Pirates have long searched for a dominant ace to anchor their rotation, but that could soon be a thing of the past. With <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/pittsburgh-pirates/pirates-news-paul-skenes-learning-pitches-adding-2-more">Skenes making an immediate impact</a> and Chandler rapidly climbing the ranks, Pittsburgh’s pitching staff is brimming with potential. If Chandler backs up his confident remarks, the Pirates might have an exciting challenge on their hands next spring.</p><p>For now, Skenes will handle the Opening Day start as Chandler watches from the dugout. But a year from now, don’t be shocked if the 22-year-old is vying for that spotlight himself.</p><p>Though Chandler’s words may be playful, his confidence is well-founded. The 22-year-old has been making steady progress through Pittsburgh’s farm system, displaying an electric fastball and a well-rounded arsenal. A dominant showing in Triple-A next season—or a breakthrough in the majors—could put him in serious contention for the 2026 Opening Day start.</p><p>Pittsburgh’s rotation is brimming with young talent, but unseating Paul Skenes won’t come easily. The reigning NL Rookie of the Year is on track to cement his status as the Pirates’ top starter, assuming he stays sharp.</p><p>If Chandler wants to take that role, he’ll need to refine his control, prove himself against big-league hitters, and showcase the same game-controlling dominance that made Skenes the team’s ace.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Paul Skenes reveals brash message from top prospect ahead of opening day start

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/mlb-stories/mlb-news-insiders-think-tarik-skubal-best-pitcher-over-paul-skenes');   ga('set', 'title', 'Why insiders think Tarik Skubal is best pitcher in baseball over Paul Skenes');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Why-insiders-think-Tarik-Skubal-is-best-pitcher-in-baseball-over-Paul-Skenes.jpg"></figure><h1>Why insiders think Tarik Skubal is best pitcher in baseball over Paul Skenes</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-19T13:38:42-07:00">March 19th, 1:38pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-19T13:51:01-07:00">March 19th, 1:51pm</time><address><a>Mike Gianakos</a>Mike Gianakos is the former editor-in-chief of High Times magazine, where he also spearheaded the video department and event production. He is a longtime podcaster and even longer suffering NY Jets fan.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Detroit Tigers</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes burst onto the scene in 2024. One year after dominating college baseball at LSU, Skenes was mowing down hitters in the majors with his sizzling triple digit four-seam fastball and devastating splinker. The sensational debut earned Skenes <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/pittsburgh-pirates/pirates-news-paul-skenes-beats-jackson-merrill-nl-rookie-of-the-year">NL Rookie of the Year honors</a> and a third-place finish in Cy Young voting.</p><p>Expectations for Skenes’ sophomore season are sky high. But MLB insiders believe he’ll take a back seat to one pitcher in 2025, according to a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6197907/2025/03/19/mlb-starting-pitcher-rankings-player/" rel="noopener">panel of experts</a>.</p><p>The Athletic’s annual starting pitcher survey, composed of 20 scouts, analysts and executives, found that Detroit Tigers ace Tarik Skubal is the best pitcher in baseball. The experts rank each starter on a scale of 1-5, creating tiers. The top pitchers in MLB reach Tier 1, which requires a perfect total score of 100.</p><p>Only Skubal reached that rarified air, with survey respondents unanimously selecting him as baseball’s best starting pitcher. Skenes was ranked second, with a score of 98.5. He finished well ahead of third-ranked Zack Wheeler, who was given a 97.</p><h2><b>Will Tarik Skubal outshine Paul Skenes in 2025?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Tarik-Skubal_fe2b96.jpg"><figcaption>Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Skubal was electric in 2024. He won the pitching triple crown, leading the American League in wins (18), ERA (2.39) and strikeouts (228). Skubal led all pitchers in wins, ERA and bWAR, finishing with 6.4 in 31 starts. He <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/detroit-tigers/tigers-news-tarik-skubal-al-cy-young-award-historic-season">unanimously won the AL Cy Young Award</a>.</p><p>Skubal had shown signs that a breakout campaign was coming. After starting the 2023 season on the 60-day injured list and having his debut pushed back to July, Skubal hit the ground running, dominating in 15 starts for the Tigers with a 2.80 ERA, 0.896 WHIP and 102 strikeouts in 80.1 innings. Then, in 2024, he put it all together.</p><p>While Skenes could just as easily ascend to the next level after his phenomenal debut, The Athletic’s panel was concerned about injury risk. The Pirates’ star threw 294.7 innings between college ball, Triple-A and the Majors from 2023-2024. Given the increasing prevalence of pitcher injuries, the survey expressed a sense of uncertainty regarding Skenes’ 2025 season.</p><p>For his part, Skenes is ready to be unleashed. He’s wants to move past an innings limit this year, stating he’s ready to <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/pittsburgh-pirates/pirates-news-paul-skenes-stern-declaration-2025-innings-limit">throw 240 innings in 2025</a>. But respondents wonder how his arm will hold up under that new strain.</p><p>While <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/detroit-tigers/tigers-news-mlb-network-fans-vote-tarik-skubal-best-pitcher-2025-season">fans voted Skubal the best pitcher</a> in baseball and The Athletic’s survey of experts backs that claim up, Skenes could easily take another giant leap forward this season. Perhaps another year of dominance will lead to a new number one in 2026.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Why insiders think Tarik Skubal is best pitcher in baseball over Paul Skenes

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/pittsburgh-pirates/pirates-news-jared-jones-troubling-injury-update-spring-training');   ga('set', 'title', 'Pirates’ Jared Jones gets troubling injury update as spring training nears end');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Jared-Jones-gets-troubling-injury-update-as-spring-training-nears-end.jpg"></figure><h1>Pirates’ Jared Jones gets troubling injury update as spring training nears end</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-19T07:30:53-07:00">March 19th, 7:30am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-19T07:31:04-07:00">March 19th, 7:31am</time><address><a>Benjamin Adducchio</a>Benjamin Adducchio is a journalist and writer with more than a decade of experience in covering sports news. Ben is a passionate sports fan who loves college football, basketball, and the New York Yankees.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Jared Jones is dealing with some injury issues. Jones <a href="https://x.com/AlexJStumpf/status/1902346389255774230" rel="noopener">is missing his final spring training start</a> due to elbow problems, per MLB.com. That’s certainly a tough blow for the Pirates.</p><p>The team is reportedly <a href="https://x.com/AlexJStumpf/status/1902348351187665048" rel="noopener">just learning about this injury</a>, per the outlet. It’s uncertain how long Jones will have to be out. Jones is not listed as the team’s Opening Day starter, as that honor is going to Paul Skenes.</p><p>Jones is looked at though as a starter for the club in 2025. He finished the 2024 season with a 6-8 record, as well as a 4.14 ERA. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/pirates-news-jared-jones-epic-mlb-feat-3-other-times-1893">The Pirates pitcher posted 132 strikeouts last season</a> with 39 walks.</p><p>Pittsburgh is playing Tampa Bay on Wednesday in a spring training game. Opening Day is March 27 for most Major League Baseball teams.</p><h2><b>The Pirates are hoping for success in 2025</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Paul-Skenes-was-never-in-the-Yankees-draft-plans.jpg"><figcaption>Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>The Pirates looked strong for a good part of the 2024 season, but things fell apart after the MLB trade deadline. Pittsburgh stumbled in the last six weeks of the campaign, before closing with a 76-86 record.</p><p>Pittsburgh has made just a handful of postseason appearances in the last 30 years. The Pirates are used to being in the cellar of the NL Central, and there’s hope that finally this season will turn around their fortunes.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/pirates-news-paul-skenes-100-real-pittsburgh-competing-2025">The Pirates pitching is one of the reasons why fans are optimistic</a>. Pittsburgh found a star in Skenes, who ended up starting for the NL in the 2024 All-Star game. The pitcher also won the honor of NL Rookie of the Year. He leads the rotation, but needs help in the rotation.</p><p>Enter Jones. The young pitcher is seen as a strong counterpart to Skenes. Jones finished the 2024 season with a 1.19 WHIP while appearing in 22 games. Unfortunately, Jones has also dealt with injuries throughout his tenure so far. He missed some time last season due to a strain.</p><p>The Pirates are hopeful that Jones can return quickly. Pittsburgh is expected to use Skenes, Jones and veteran Mitch Keller to help shore up their starting pitching. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/pirates-news-paul-skenes-learning-pitches-adding-2-more">Skenes has worked on some pitches this offseason for the Pirates</a>, and wants to work a lot of innings. The team may need him to do just that.</p><p>The Pirates open their MLB season against the Miami Marlins on March 27. Time will tell if the club can have a strong 2025 campaign.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Pirates’ Jared Jones gets troubling injury update as spring training nears end

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/pittsburgh-pirates/pirates-news-paul-skenes-100-real-pittsburgh-competing-2025');   ga('set', 'title', 'Paul Skenes gets 100% real on Pirates’ chances of competing in 2025');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Pirates-news-Paul-Skenes-gets-100-real-on-Pittsburgh-s-chances-of-competing-in-2025.jpg"></figure><h1>Paul Skenes gets 100% real on Pirates’ chances of competing in 2025</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-18T18:30:50-07:00">March 18th, 6:30pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-18T18:30:50-07:00">March 18th, 6:30pm</time><address><a>Christopher Hennessy</a>Christopher Hennessy graduated with a journalism degree from Fordham University in 2022. He has also worked at Spectrum News One in Albany, New York and with The Hockey Writers as a New York Islanders writer. Chris is originally from Connecticut and is a lifelong New York Yankees, Islanders, and Jets fan.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Pittsburgh Pirates won only 76 games last year. But excitement is brewing around the Steel City’s baseball team for the first time in a decade. They have a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/pirates-news-paul-skenes-learning-pitches-adding-2-more">superstar pitcher in former first-overall pick Paul Skenes and the Pirates</a> have a chance at the playoffs because of it. The LSU product was on Sportscenter<a href="https://x.com/SportsCenter/status/1902159114983047670" rel="noopener"> speaking about his desire</a> to bring winning baseball back to Pittsburgh.</p><p>https://twitter.com/SportsCenter/status/1902159114983047670</p><p>“It happens in the locker room,” Skenes said when asked about building a winner. “We’re in spring training right now and so it started February 13 or 14, whatever the date was where we were working together as a squad. And it is going to continue until September or October next year.</p><p>Skenes continued, “We’re going to put the work in together…I think if we do what we want to do it will be because we had a level of commitment and understanding within the locker room that no other team had.”</p><p>The Pirates have not made the playoffs since 2015, the second of consecutive losses in the NL Wild Card game. It has been a long and arduous rebuild for the Buccos but it landed them Skenes, who could make it all worth it.</p><p>But any playoff baseball team needs balance and the Pirates’ offense leaves a lot to be desired. They ranked 24th in runs scored and their <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/pittsburgh-pirates/pirates-news-pittsburgh-adds-offense-10th-team-mlb-career">big offensive addition was Tommy Pham</a>. They need their young players like Oneil Cruz to step up offensively and carry the rotation.</p><p>The Pirates’ pitching is more than just Paul Skenes. Jared Jones is also 23 years old, Mitch Keller had a great season last year, and Bailey Falter had a solid season. This is their strongest position group and could lead them to October for the first time in a decade.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Paul Skenes gets 100% real on Pirates’ chances of competing in 2025

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/pittsburgh-pirates/pirates-news-paul-skenes-learning-pitches-adding-2-more');   ga('set', 'title', 'Pirates’ Paul Skenes teases learning even more pitches after adding 2 more');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Paul-Skenes-teases-learning-even-more-pitches-after-adding-2-more.jpg"></figure><h1>Pirates’ Paul Skenes teases learning even more pitches after adding 2 more</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-18T08:08:01-07:00">March 18th, 8:08am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-18T08:08:24-07:00">March 18th, 8:08am</time><address><a>Benjamin Adducchio</a>Benjamin Adducchio is a journalist and writer with more than a decade of experience in covering sports news. Ben is a passionate sports fan who loves college football, basketball, and the New York Yankees.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes seems to have all sorts of new tricks. Skenes is teasing that he’s been working on some secret new pitches this offseason, that <a href="https://www.mlb.com/news/paul-skenes-tests-sinker-spring-training-start" rel="noopener">no one even knows about</a>.</p><p>“I’m never going to stop doing that,” Skenes said, per MLB.com. “Maybe I’ll throw a knuckleball 10 years from now.”</p><p>The Pirates All-Star hurler is getting ready for his second season in Major League Baseball. He’s already been named the starter for the team, in its Opening Day game March 27. That’s not a surprise for Pittsburgh considering Skenes started in last year’s All-Star game.</p><p>This offseason, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/pirates-news-paul-skenes-prediction-nasty-new-pitch">Skenes has specifically talked about a new pitch he’s working on for the Pirates</a>. Analysts say though he’s been throwing two different new ones.</p><p>He’s been throwing more off-speed stuff in spring training, and people have been analyzing those pitches.</p><p>“[It’s] not just him, but guys that have weapons like him don’t need to tinker at times,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “You can just use the elite fastball, the splinker, whatever he has. But the other part of Spring Training is the process of working on things, and there’s very few guys that have it in their back pocket where they can go get it and use one pitch at a time, and we’ve seen him be able to execute that.”</p><p>Opening Day is just around the corner, so Skenes will be able to finesse those pitches even more.</p><h2><b>Pirates fans are counting on Skenes to have a big season</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/Paul-Skenes.jpg"><figcaption>Brad Penner-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/pirates-news-pittsburgh-adds-offense-10th-team-mlb-career">The Pirates have long struggled as a franchise</a>. The 2024 season continued those woes, as the team finished with a 76-86 record.</p><p>Pirates fans hope Skenes can get the team back to the postseason. One man clearly can’t do everything, but his leadership can certainly help inspire the team. Skenes seems to be taking a lot of responsibility this offseason.</p><p>That responsibility includes tinkering with how he throws the baseball.</p><p>“It’s kind of amazing what you can do with a baseball if you really want to,” Skenes added.</p><p>The Pirates pitcher has worked with a sinker, and a cutter this spring. In his final start of the spring on Monday, Skenes worked heavily with the sinker.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Pirates’ Paul Skenes teases learning even more pitches after adding 2 more

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/pittsburgh-pirates/pirates-news-paul-skenes-opening-day-starter-video');   ga('set', 'title', 'Video of Pirates’ Paul Skenes finding out Opening Day starter status goes viral');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Pirates-news-Video-of-Paul-Skenes-finding-out-Opening-Day-starter-status-goes-viral.jpg"></figure><h1>Video of Pirates’ Paul Skenes finding out Opening Day starter status goes viral</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-15T09:27:03-07:00">March 15th, 9:27am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-15T09:27:03-07:00">March 15th, 9:27am</time><address><a href="https://www.facebook.com/joey.mistretta/" rel="facebook">Joey Mistretta</a>Joey Mistretta is a Dallas Mavericks beat reporter, Dallas Wings beat reporter and lead MLB editor for ClutchPoints. He is originally from Lake Arrowhead, California. Mistretta graduated from Biola University with a degree in broadcast journalism.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Paul Skenes enjoyed a memorable first season in the big leagues. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/pirates-news-paul-skenes-beats-jackson-merrill-nl-rookie-of-the-year">Skenes was ultimately selected as the National League Rookie of the Year</a> after pitching to a stellar 1.96 ERA across 23 starts. On Saturday, Pirates manager Derek Shelton informed Skenes that he was selected as the team’s 2025 Opening Day starter. The Pirates <a href="https://x.com/Pirates/status/1900898207044907484" rel="noopener">shared a video of the heartwarming moment</a> on X, formerly Twitter.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">The moment Paul Skenes found out he was starting on Opening Day. <a href="https://t.co/xLJUjPKpgY">pic.twitter.com/xLJUjPKpgY</a></p><p>— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) <a href="https://twitter.com/Pirates/status/1900898207044907484?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 15, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></p></figure><p>Shelton, sitting in his office with Skenes, began the conversation by asking the right-handed hurler about his bullpen. The Pirates manager then asked Skenes how he is feeling overall, with Skenes saying he feels “good” as spring training continues. The two went on to discuss some more baseball before Shelton surprised Skenes with the Opening Day news.</p><p>“Well you get your first Opening Day start,” Shelton said before shaking Skenes’ hand.</p><p>“Congrats brother,” the manager told a smiling Skenes.</p><p>Skenes earned an All-Star selection and even finished third in NL Cy Young voting in 2023. It was a spectacular campaign for the former No. 1 overall pick. In addition to his aforementioned 1.96 ERA, Skenes recorded 170 strikeouts in only 133 innings pitched. He made just 23 starts, so one can only imagine what kind of numbers the Pirates star pitcher will record after making 30-plus appearances.</p><p>At only 22 years old, Paul Skenes is clearly one of the best pitchers in the sport. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/pirates-news-paul-skenes-prediction-nasty-new-pitch">Skenes is continuing to improve</a> as well, which is surely a frightening thought for opposing hitters.</p><p>The Pirates have struggled in recent seasons amid their rebuild. Pittsburgh is hoping to develop a competitive ball club sooner rather than later. In all reality, the team could make things interesting in 2025. If not this season, the Pirates should be able to compete within the next couple of years.</p><p>There is still room to improve, but the Pirates’ future appears to be bright with Skenes leading the way.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Video of Pirates’ Paul Skenes finding out Opening Day starter status goes viral

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/pittsburgh-pirates/pirates-news-andrew-mccutchen-oneil-cruz-warning-rest-of-mlb');   ga('set', 'title', 'Andrew McCutchen sends subtle Oneil Cruz warning to rest of MLB');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Pirates-news-Andrew-McCutchen-sends-subtle-Oneil-Cruz-warning-to-rest-of-MLB.jpg"></figure><h1>Andrew McCutchen sends subtle Oneil Cruz warning to rest of MLB</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-08T21:23:10-08:00">March 8th, 9:23pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-08T21:42:01-08:00">March 8th, 9:42pm</time><address><a>Mike Gianakos</a>Mike Gianakos is the former editor-in-chief of High Times magazine, where he also spearheaded the video department and event production. He is a longtime podcaster and even longer suffering NY Jets fan.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>The Pittsburgh Pirates suffered through another losing season in 2024, failing to reach the playoffs for the ninth straight year. Of course, there is reason for some optimism in Pittsburgh. The team unveiled starting pitcher Paul Skenes last season and he went on to <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/pittsburgh-pirates/pirates-news-paul-skenes-beats-jackson-merrill-nl-rookie-of-the-year">win NL Rookie of the Year</a>. And, according to Andrew McCutchen, the Pirates also boast a <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DG9SNVWxV1O/?e=e26c1232-5f12-4903-9c3e-3efc85332107&amp;g=5&amp;img_index=1" rel="noopener">budding superstar</a> in Oneil Cruz.</p><p>“[Ohtani] does things that people go, ‘I’ve never seen that done.’ [Cruz] does the same stuff, stuff you’ve never seen… He has no ceiling,” McCutchen said, via MLB’s official account on X.</p><p>This is quite a bold claim from McCutchen, who’s been doling out deep baseball thoughts this spring, including his take on <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/los-angeles-angels/angels-news-andrew-mccutchen-mike-trout-accept-reality">Mike Trout switching to DH </a>full time. But the Ohtani/Cruz talent comp is wild.</p><h2><b>Do the Pirates have baseball’s next big thing in Oneil Cruz?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Oneil-Cruz.jpg"><figcaption>Katie Stratman-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Cruz is undoubtedly a specimen at 6’7” and 240 pounds. And he’s blessed with prodigious power, which the Pirates hope to harness as he enters his prime.</p><p>Last season, Cruz produced at the plate. He finished the year with 21 home runs, 34 doubles and 76 RBI with a .773 OPS and an OPS+ of 113 in 146 games with the Pirates. If there’s a knock on Cruz it’s regarding his play in the field.</p><p>Cruz committed 26 errors in 2024, the second-most in MLB. He was 155th in outs above average for all positions. He ranked 103rd overall in UZR as a shortstop. Basically, by any metric, he was not very good in the field.</p><p>The Pirates decided that keeping Cruz at shortstop was probably a bad idea. However, the team very much wanted to keep his bat in the lineup. So Pittsburgh <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/pittsburgh-pirates/pirates-news-intriguing-oneil-cruz-position-switch">opted for a position switch</a>, moving the talented hitter to center field. And, considering he’d never played the position before, Cruz did a reasonable enough job in 23 games as the Pirates’ center fielder.</p><p>Cruz’s teammates are excited about the <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/pittsburgh-pirates/pirates-news-outfielders-vocal-oneil-cruz-bazooka-move-center-field">move to center</a>, as he’s made strides at the position this spring. Most importantly for the Pirates, he’s continued to crush the ball, producing a .643 slugging percentage and 1.011 OPS in six spring training games.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Andrew McCutchen sends subtle Oneil Cruz warning to rest of MLB

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/pittsburgh-pirates/pirates-news-paul-skenes-prediction-nasty-new-pitch');   ga('set', 'title', 'Pirates’ Paul Skenes makes prediction about nasty new pitch');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Paul-Skenes-makes-prediction-about-nasty-new-pitch.jpg"></figure><h1>Pirates’ Paul Skenes makes prediction about nasty new pitch</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-03-02T07:54:24-08:00">March 2nd, 7:54am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-03-02T07:54:46-08:00">March 2nd, 7:54am</time><address><a>Benjamin Adducchio</a>Benjamin Adducchio is a journalist and writer with more than a decade of experience in covering sports news. Ben is a passionate sports fan who loves college football, basketball, and the New York Yankees.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes is working on his game ahead of the 2025 season. Skenes is working on some new pitches, including a cutter and two-seam fastball. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/pirates-news-paul-skenes-fires-up-fans-2-word-message-spring-training">The Pirates hurler used some of that new repertoire</a> in his Grapefruit League debut for the team against Baltimore.</p><p>Skenes helped the Pirates post a 5-2 Spring Training win over the Orioles. <a href="https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/44069753/pirates-skenes-showcases-expanded-arsenal-1st-grapefruit-league-appearance-year" rel="noopener">He struck out four and allowed four hits</a>, while throwing three innings Saturday.</p><p>“You’ve just got to mix it in,” Skenes said after the game about the pitches, per the Associated Press. “I learned some stuff about it. It’s going to be good, I think.”</p><p>Skenes is considered the face of the Pirates franchise. He’s tasked with helping lead the club to a winning season after last year’s 76-86 campaign.</p><h2><b>Pirates fans are expecting big things from Paul Skenes in 2025</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Paul-Skenes-was-never-in-the-Yankees-draft-plans.jpg"><figcaption>Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Skenes had a very promising rookie season in Major League Baseball in 2024. <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/pirates-news-paul-skenes-beats-jackson-merrill-nl-rookie-of-the-year">The Pirates hurler won the National League Rookie of the Year award</a>, after also starting for the NL in the All-Star game.</p><p>Those awards are certainly impressive. It’s even more impressive considering Skenes was not on the Pirates Opening Day roster last season. The former LSU baseball star got called up midway through the campaign.</p><p>Skenes finished his rookie season with a 1.96 ERA. He went 11-3 as a starting pitcher for Pittsburgh, and posted 170 strikeouts. The Pirates were in contention for the NL playoffs well into August, but things then went off the rails.</p><p>Pirates fans are thirsting for success and hope Skenes is the answer. Pittsburgh has made just a handful of playoff appearances since 1992, when the Pirates last made the NLCS. The club also endured years and years of losing seasons, causing many fans to turn apathetic.</p><p><a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/pirates-news-derek-shelton-paul-skenes-hope-excite-pittsburgh-fans">Skenes has spoken about his faith in this year’s club</a>. He feels <a href="https://www.mlb.com/news/paul-skenes-2025-spring-training-debut" rel="noopener">he passed his first test</a> on Saturday.</p><p>“I thought it was pretty good,” Skenes said of his Grapefruit League outing, per MLB.com. “It’s kind of just what happens — body speeds up when you get in a game. That can either make your misses smaller or bigger, and I think there were both at times today. It’s not going to be perfect, [I’ve] just got to get out there in front of fans and get going.”</p><p>The Pirates pitcher thinks developing new pitches can help him work extra innings this year.</p><p>“I think it’ll help. I don’t know to what degree yet,” Skenes added. “I’ve just got to make my misses a little bit smaller and establish presence in the zone. It’s the [same approach], just different ways to do it.”</p><p>Spring Training games for the Pirates continue on Sunday. The club takes on the Detroit Tigers.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Pirates’ Paul Skenes makes prediction about nasty new pitch

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/los-angeles-angels/angels-news-andrew-mccutchen-mike-trout-accept-reality');   ga('set', 'title', 'Andrew McCutchen says Mike Trout needs to accept reality');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Andrew-McCutchen-says-Mike-Trout-needs-to-accept-reality.jpg"></figure><h1>Andrew McCutchen says Mike Trout needs to accept reality</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-02-26T22:47:45-08:00">February 26th, 10:47pm</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-02-26T22:58:35-08:00">February 26th, 10:58pm</time><address><a>Mike Gianakos</a>Mike Gianakos is the former editor-in-chief of High Times magazine, where he also spearheaded the video department and event production. He is a longtime podcaster and even longer suffering NY Jets fan.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">Los Angeles Angels</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>Mike Trout spent nearly a decade as one of baseball’s premier players. The three-time league MVP manned centerfield for the Los Angeles Angels throughout his 14-year career. But injuries began piling up, forcing Trout to miss time. He’s played in just 111 games over the last two seasons. In an effort to keep Trout healthy, the Angels <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/los-angeles-angels/angels-news-mike-trout-changing-positions">moved the 11-time All-Star to right field</a>.</p><p>The team hopes playing a less taxing position in the field will help preserve Trout’s body and maybe even allow him to get back to being a perennial triple crown threat. Not everybody agrees with the position change, however. Pittsburgh Pirates great Andrew McCutchen, for one, doesn’t think the Angels are <a href="https://x.com/FoulTerritoryTV/status/1894468775778394290" rel="noopener">doing enough</a> to maintain Trout’s health.</p><p>When asked if the best course of action for Trout at this point in his career is to become a full-time DH, McCutchen emphatically agreed, per Foul Territory on X.</p><p>“He can [get 500, 600 at bats in a season] if he says ‘I’m not gonna be the 2014, ‘15, ‘16 Trout. I’m not gonna be that same guy,’” McCutchen explained.</p><h2><b>Should the Angels relegate Mike Trout to DH?</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Mike-Trout_8cd8ef.jpg"><figcaption>Kiyoshi Mio-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Of course, the 16-year veteran realizes it’s not an easy thing to accept. McCutchen struggled with injuries as well, ultimately becoming a full-time designated hitter in 2023 to prolong his career.</p><p>“I was there. You tussle with, ‘But I can run hard down the line, I can hustle double, I can steal bags, I’m still gonna be that same person.’ Plain and simple, no. You can be the same person but in a different aspect. Maybe you’re not stealing 20 bags, maybe you’re stealing 10. Maybe you’re not getting that hustle double. And it’s late in the game and you guys are up or down five,” McCutchen said, via Foul Territory.</p><p>Trout has endured significant injuries each season since 2021. Last year a <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/los-angeles-angels/angels-news-mike-trout-devastated-season-ending-meniscus-tear">torn meniscus required surgery</a> and kept Trout out all but 29 games as the Angels missed the playoffs for the 10th straight season. Yet despite the numerous ailments and missed time, Trout still has a career OPS+ of 173. While he’s no longer considered a top-tier MLB player, <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/los-angeles-angels/angels-news-mike-trout-2025-season">Trout is motivated</a> to reestablish his greatness this season.</p><p>The 33-year-old former Defensive Player of the Year made his <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/los-angeles-angels/angels-news-mike-trout-gets-real-right-field-debut-spring-training">debut in right field</a> for the Angels during spring training. It was his first game action since August 2024. Baseball fans everywhere are anxious to see what a healthy Trout can do over the course of a full season.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Andrew McCutchen says Mike Trout needs to accept reality

<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD XHTML 1.0 Transitional//EN" "http://www.w3.org/TR/xhtml1/DTD/xhtml1-transitional.dtd"><html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml" xml:lang="en" lang="en">    <head>        <script>   (function(i, s, o, g, r, a, m) {     i["GoogleAnalyticsObject"] = r;     i[r] = i[r] || function() {       (i[r].q = i[r].q || []).push(arguments)     }, i[r].l = 1 * new Date();     a = s.createElement(o),       m = s.getElementsByTagName(o)[0];     a.async = 1;     a.src = g;     m.parentNode.insertBefore(a, m)   })(window, document, "script", "https://www.google-analytics.com/analytics.js", "ga");   ga('create', 'UA-66147751-16', {     'storage': 'none',     'clientId': localStorage.getItem('ga:clientId')   });   ga(function(tracker) {     localStorage.setItem('ga:clientId', tracker.get('clientId'));   });   ga('set', 'checkProtocolTask', null);      ga('set', 'page', '/mlb/pittsburgh-pirates/pirates-news-derek-shelton-paul-skenes-hope-excite-pittsburgh-fans');   ga('set', 'title', 'Derek Shelton’s Paul Skenes ‘hope’ will excite Pirates fans');   ga('send', 'pageview');</script>        <style type="text/css" media="all">            body {    background: transparent;    margin: 0px;}h1, h2, h3 {    color: #DDDDDD;    font-family: "SFUIText-Semibold";    margin: 30px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 21px;    line-height: 125%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}header {    margin: 0px;    height: 0px;    display: none;}p {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 15px 15px 15px 15px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}p > img {    margin-left: -15px;    width: calc(100% + 30px);}a {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;    text-decoration: underline;}ul {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 3px 10px 3px 10px;    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}ol {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    font-size: 17px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.23px;}img {    margin: 0px;    width: 100%;    height: auto;}blockquote {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.8);    font-family: "SFUIText-Medium";    margin: 30px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 19px;    line-height: 135%;    letter-spacing: -0.41px;}blockquote p {    margin: 0px;}.op-tracker, .op-ad {    display: none;    height: 0px;}article > figure {    margin: 0px;}figcaption {    color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0.7);    font-family: "SFUIText-Regular";    margin: 10px 15px 30px 15px;    font-size: 13px;}iframe {    width: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;    margin: 0px;    border: 0;}.vine-embed {    height: __SCREEN_SIZE_WIDTH__;}.twitter-tweet, .instagram-media {    margin-left: 15px !important;    margin-right: 15px !important;    width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;}.clutchpoints-widget {    /*margin: 10px 15px 10px 15px !important;*/    /*margin-top: 1px !important;*/    padding-top: 10px;    /*margin-left: 15px !important;*/    /*margin-right: 15px !important;*/    /*width: __SCREEN_CONTENT_SIZE_WIDTH__ !important;*/}        </style>        <meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8" />    </head>    <body>        <article id="mvp-content-main"><header><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Pirates-news-Derek-Sheltons-Paul-Skenes-hope-will-excite-Pittsburgh-fans.jpg"></figure><h1>Derek Shelton’s Paul Skenes ‘hope’ will excite Pirates fans</h1><time class="op-published" datetime="2025-02-25T11:29:32-08:00">February 25th, 11:29am</time><time class="op-modified" datetime="2025-02-25T11:29:32-08:00">February 25th, 11:29am</time><address><a>Russell Steinberg</a>Russell Steinberg covers Major League Baseball and the New York Liberty for ClutchPoints. A baseball and basketball lifer, he has written for Boardroom, SLAM, SB Nation, The Next, and more. He graduated from NYU in 2012 and still returns to serve as PA announcer and occasional broadcaster for the school’s basketball and volleyball teams.</address><h3 class="op-kicker">MLB</h3><figure class="op-ad"></figure></header><p>In an age of innings limits and baseball teams doing everything they can to protect their young pitchers, Pittsburgh Pirates fans will be happy to hear what their manager, Derek Shelton, had to say about <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/pittsburgh-pirates/pirates-news-paul-skenes-warning-mlb">22-year-old phenom Paul Skenes</a>.</p><p>Shelton spoke with Foul Territory on Tuesday where the crew asked him if Skenes could <a href="https://x.com/FoulTerritoryTV/status/1894423495875899707" rel="noopener">keep up the greatness</a> he showed as a rookie over 30 starts. Skenes made 23 for the Pirates last year, going 11-3 with a 1.96 ERA. He also struck out 170 batters in 133 innings.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p dir="ltr" lang="en">The <a href="https://twitter.com/Pirates?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Pirates</a> expect Paul Skenes to make 30 starts, says Manager Derek Shelton <a href="https://t.co/a5gae1PylZ">pic.twitter.com/a5gae1PylZ</a></p><p>— Foul Territory (@FoulTerritoryTV) <a href="https://twitter.com/FoulTerritoryTV/status/1894423495875899707?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 25, 2025</a></p></blockquote><p><script async="" src="https://instagram.com/embed.js"></script></p></figure><p>“Our hope is yes,” Shelton said. “One of the things that we were really adamant about as a group — and [general manager] Ben [Cherrington] and I especially, was he made that last start in New York.”</p><p>Shelton was referring to Skenes’ last outing of 2024 in which he pitched two clean innings in New York against the Yankees. He struck out three hitters and didn’t give up a hit over 23 pitches.</p><p>“I mean it was two innings, you can say what you want,” Shelton continued. “I felt really strongly like he needed to take that mound and prepare for that last start because guys don’t know what the length of the season is.”</p><p>Now entering his first full season in the Major Leagues, the reigning <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/pittsburgh-pirates/why-paul-skenes-nl-rookie-of-the-year-reaction-differed-from-livvy-dunnes">National League Rookie of the Year</a> has the confidence of his manager to keep it going for the long haul.</p><p>“To answer that question, I’m going to say yes because of the way he’s built the way he prepares,” Shelton said. “Until you go through a 30-start season or a 32-start season, you don’t know. But he is built to pitch that way.”</p><h2><b>Pirates ace Paul Skenes is ramping up for his 2025 debut</b></h2><figure><img src="https://wp.clutchpoints.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Paul-Skenes.jpg"><figcaption>Brad Penner-Imagn Images</figcaption></figure><p>Skenes was scheduled to make his 2025 debut on Monday in a Grapefruit League game against the Philadelphia Phillies, but rain washed away the contest. Instead, he threw a 45-pitch live batting practice session to get his work in.</p><p>Shelton has not announced when Skenes will take the mound for the first time in a spring training game, but Saturday is the next open date for which the Pirates don’t already have a scheduled starter. They’ll face the Baltimore Orioles at 1:05 p.m. ET in Sarasota.</p><p>Skenes’ canceled start came just days after he <a href="https://clutchpoints.com/mlb/pittsburgh-pirates/pirates-news-paul-skenes-fires-up-fans-2-word-message-spring-training">amped up Pirates fans</a> with a <a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/DGRldjxOIXZ/?img_index=1" rel="noopener">two-word message</a> via Instagram. He shared a series of photos of himself from Pirates camp and captioned it simply, “heating up.” His girlfriend, LSU gymnast and influencer Olivia Dunne, replied, “knew something felt hot in here,” as Pirates fans went bananas in the comments.</p><figure class="op-tracker"></figure></article>    </body></html>

Pittsburgh
Pirates NEWS

PITTSBURGH

PIRATES

PittsburghPirates NEWS

PITTSBURGH

PIRATES

Pittsburgh
Pirates NEWS