The Pittsburgh Pirates made a winner out of Paul Skenes in a matchup of exciting young pitchers, scoring three runs in the sixth inning in a 4-2 win over MLB-debuting Payton Tolle and the Boston Red Sox in the opener of a three-game series Friday night.
Skenes (9-9) scattered a career high-tying seven hits but allowed just two runs (one earned) and struck out six across the first six innings.
Tommy Pham hit a game-tying, two-run double while Andrew McCutchen went 3-for-3 with the deciding RBI for Pittsburgh, which has won three of its last four.
Relievers Dauri Moreta, Isaac Mattson and Dennis Santana each pitched scoreless innings to finish out the win.
Skenes outdueled Tolle, who struck out eight and allowed just three hits over 5 1/3 innings. Both runs charged to Tolle scored after he exited the game. Greg Weissert (6-5) took the loss in relief.
Boston’s Romy Gonzalez (3-for-4) recorded all three of his hits against Skenes. Roman Anthony (home run) and Ceddanne Rafaela were both 2-for-4.
The Pirates flipped the score for good in the sixth after consecutive one-out singles by Nick Gonzalez and Bryan Reynolds knocked Tolle out of the game. Pham greeted Weissert with a game-tying, two-run double to deep center, and McCutchen followed with his own RBI two-bagger.
In Pittsburgh’s eighth, Henry Davis’ fielder’s choice bunt scored sliding pinch runner Ronny Simon with a key insurance run. Simon was originally called out, but the call was overturned after a successful challenge.
Tolle threw his first seven pitches for strikes and retired the side 1-2-3 on 13 pitches in the first. The 22-year-old allowed just one hit — a McCutchen double in the second — until the final two batters he faced.
The Red Sox threatened without scoring in both the second and third innings against Skenes, but Rafaela’s infield single and subsequent throwing error brought the opening run home with two outs in the third. Masataka Yoshida came across the plate after drawing a one-out walk, preceding a Gonzalez single.
In the fifth, Anthony doubled Boston’s lead when he crushed a leadoff solo homer deep into the right-field seats.
Skenes bounced back to face the minimum across his last six batters, as catcher Davis caught Romy Gonzalez stealing to turn the sixth inning into another 1-2-3 frame.
