Skenes Bounces Back, Dominates Reds

0:00On April 1st, Paul Schienz bounced back strong for the Pittsburgh Pirates after a rough short start last week. In their 8-3 win over the Cincinnati Reds, the reigning national league-style young winner went five innings, giving up just one run and... Striking out five, Pirates fans can breed easy now that he's back to dominating. Earlier this week against the Mets, Schienz threw only 37 pitches over two thirds of an inning and allowed five runs. This time, he walked TJ Friedle early, but then retired 8 straight batters, including three strikeouts. That one run came on a double after Elie De La Cruz's first hit, snapping Schienz's 31 innings scoreless streak against Cincinnati. Pirates manager Don Kelly kept him on a pitch limit around 80 to build him up gradually and Schienz hit 77 pitches with 51. Strikes, he retired four of the last five he faced. The team jumped out early with three runs in the first on Elie Cruz's homer, giving Schienz the support he needed.

1:01Schienz called it progress, happy to get more volume on the mound. Red's Skipper Terry Francona noted how tough it is to score off him early. Now five and zero lifetime against Cincinnati, with a 0.53 ERA over six starts, he's held them to a 197 batting average. With his overall 2.10 ERA through 57 starts ranking among the best ever, Schienz lifts prime for the long haul as Pittsburgh builds around this ace. I'm Corey with the story and you've been listening to MLB News today, AI-powered baseball