Over his first two Major League seasons, Paul Skenes was one of the best and most consistent pitchers in baseball.
That hasn't been the case this year, however, as Skenes is scuffling through his worst season yet.
The reigning NL Cy Young winner took another loss on Tuesday, his third in a row and eleventh of the season. That's already a career-worst for him, and there's still more than a month left in the regular season.
Tuesday's loss wasn't Skenes' fault, as the Pittsburgh Pirates were blanked by the Miami Marlins in a 2-0 pitching duel. Still, his 3.88 ERA is nearly two full runs higher than his 1.96 career mark coming into the season.
The three-time All-Star is allowing more hits, home runs and walks than usual. Many have blamed his struggles on decreased velocity, but Pirates manager Don Kelly thinks there's more to it than that.
“The league is adjusting back,” Kelly said prior to Tuesday's loss, via MLB.com's Perla Paredes. “Paul's gonna have to fight to make the adjustment back to the league and find a way to adjust himself. Yes, the velo is down. I think command has been a bigger thing, at least for me.
“That could come from multiple things. Trying too hard to be too perfect. Trying to maybe get velo back that he knows is down a mile per hour. Well, you can't just go and try to get it. So how does Paul make the adjustment back?”
With Pittsburgh falling behind in the playoff race, it desperately needs Skenes to get back on track before it's too late.