Paul Skenes wins duel with Yoshinobu Yamamoto, Dodgers extend losing streak

Benjamin Royer, Los Angeles Times on Apr 26, 2025

Published in Baseball

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LOS ANGELES — Billed as a matchup between the National League's best arms, Friday night's pitchers duel lived up to expectations.

Enter 22-year-old flamethrower Paul Skenes. He grew up in Fullerton. He began his meteoric rise at nearby El Toro High.

Coming off his rookie of the year campaign, in his second start at Dodger Stadium, the Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander harnessed the "plus-plus stuff" — emphasized by his 99.4-mph first-inning strikeout of Freddie Freeman, dazzling curveballs and stand out "splinker" — that Los Angeles Dodgers manager Dave Roberts marveled at before the game.

Skenes, the No. 1 selection in the 2023 draft, tossed 6-1/3 scoreless frames to send the Dodgers to a 3-0 loss on Friday night. The Dodgers never drummed up run support for their ace, Yoshinobu Yamamoto, succumbing to a shutout for the second time and falling into a three-game losing streak for the first time since last August.

Freeman hit Skenes' only mistake of the day — a hanging curveball over the center of the plate — into the right field corner for a double in the fourth inning. Freeman advanced to third on an error on the play, but being 90 feet away from home didn't matter. Skenes set the next three batters down.

In the fifth inning, after Andy Pages reached on a double for the second time in the game, Skenes struck out Shohei Ohtani on a full-count curveball that sent the Dodgers star into a twisting, off-balance backswing and had Pirates catcher Henry Davis pumping his fist toward the mound in celebration.

Skenes, a highlight for the struggling Pirates (11-16), simply walked back to the dugout — his performance was business-like, giving up five hits, while striking out nine and walking zero over 108 pitches. Roberts said the Dodgers (16-10) wouldn't be able to "paper-knife" Skenes, pointing at how difficult it is to rally hits against the 6-foot-6 right-hander.

And Roberts was right. Pages had three hits and Freeman two, but the Dodgers tallied just one more. The Pirates bullpen gave up just one hit during the final 2-2/3 frames.

It wasn't so long ago that Yamamoto was in a similar position.

Three days after he turned 19 years old, the Orix Buffaloes thrust Yamamoto into big-league action. Much like Skenes in Pittsburgh, his youth did not hinder his success — Yamamoto building a trophy case that included three Triple Crowns of pitching and three Sawamura awards (the Japanese equivalent of the Cy Young) before heading to the U.S.

"The bottom line is that he has shown to be the best pitcher in a particular league multiple times," Roberts said before Yamamoto toed the mound.

But Yamamoto didn't have his best stuff against the Pirates. He issued four walks for the first time since Aug. 2, 2022 — against the Seibu Lions in Japan — and lasted five innings and 94 pitches (54 of which came in the first two innings).

Both of Pittsburgh's fifth-inning runs were unearned. Third baseman Max Muncy sailed a ball wide to first base after collecting a ground ball near the foul line, enabling Davis to advance to second. Three hits later, the Pirates were up three.

Yamamoto still struck out five and kept the Dodgers in the contest despite being below his best. His earned-run average rose a few points but remained at an NL-low 1.06, second to only Texas Rangers right-hander Tyler Mahle.

Injury updates

Roberts said the pitching staff "dodged a bullet" with Blake Snell's latest injury update. Snell, shut down from his throwing program Wednesday, underwent an MRI on Thursday morning — which came back with no new findings of damage in his left shoulder.

Snell's next steps likely will include an injection, Roberts said, before he resumes a throwing program. Before heading to the 15-day injured list on April 6, Snell held a 1-0 record with a 2.00 ERAthrough two starts.

"I don't know the extent of the length of time," Roberts said, "but just knowing that there's no damage is certainly a big relief."

Roberts also provided updates on bullpen arms Blake Treinen and Michael Kopech. Treinen (low-grade right forearm sprain) has yet to begin a throwing program, while Kopech (right shoulder impingement) — who joined the Dodgers last year in a trade-deadline deal with the Chicago White Sox and St. Louis Cardinals — tossed a 30-pitch bullpen session Thursday and will do the same Monday before a potential minor-league rehab assignment.