Paul Skenes says he does not know where the Pittsburgh Pirates stand in the National League wild-card race.
And that’s just how he wants it.
The reigning National League Cy Young Award winner’s start was pushed back a day, meaning he will pitch Friday when the visiting Pirates play the Cincinnati Reds in the second game of a four-game series.
Pittsburgh begins the day 2 1/2 games out of the third and final NL wild-card position, with Cincinnati three games back of the Pirates.
“We do a really good job of blocking out the noise,” Skenes said. “I will ask guys where we are at, and no one really knows where we are in the standings. A lot of guys don’t pay attention to it and I think that is indicative of if we play our game, and play the way we should, we are a playoff team and will be where we should be in October. It doesn’t really matter what anyone else does.”
As the Monday trade deadline approaches, the right-hander remains confident the Pirates won’t alter their approach.
“There’s urgency every day,” Skenes said. “The trade deadline is coming, but I don’t think it changes anything for us.”
Despite recording four double-digit strikeout games this year, Skenes (9-9, 3.65 ERA) has won only one of them.
He took the loss in an 11-0 home setback against the Chicago Cubs on Saturday, allowing five runs on six hits with two walks and a season-high 11 strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings.
Skenes owns more career wins against Cincinnati than any other team. In seven career starts against the Reds, he is 5-0 with a 1.38 ERA, 52 strikeouts and six walks over 39 innings.
The Reds are slated to counter with right-hander Hunter Greene (2-2, 7.06), who gave up seven runs (six earned) on eight hits with two walks and three strikeouts in 5 1/3 innings in a 7-0 road loss to the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday.
Greene is 1-4 in nine career starts against the Pirates but with a 2.57 ERA. He has 66 strikeouts and 19 walks in 49 innings vs. Pittsburgh.
While Greene has battled injuries all season, he looked to be rounding into shape on Saturday. After yielding a first-inning run, he held the Cardinals at bay until things unraveled with five hits and two walks in the sixth.
With the Reds needing to pass six teams to climb into a wild-card spot, Greene knows there is little margin for error.
“(We) don’t have grace like that here, where I can be like, ‘Oh yeah, I’m trying to get in the groove,'” Greene said. “That sure … can’t be my mentality, and the execution can’t be like that either. Every game matters. Every pitch matters.”
The Reds claimed a 3-2 victory on a walk-off fielder’s-choice grounder from Nathaniel Lowe on Thursday.
Cincinnati’s Elly De La Cruz had a monster night with three doubles, a walk, two steals, two runs and an RBI. He led off the ninth with a double and scored the winning run.
De La Cruz leads the team in stolen bases (20) and triples (four). He ranks second in doubles (22) and is tied for second in home runs (18).
De La Cruz’s instincts are a key to his extra-base-hit success, according to Reds manager Terry Francona.
“Like good baserunners, he just smells it coming out of the box,” Francona said. “Then with his speed he always gives himself a chance with those long strides.”
–Field Level Media
