Pirates Ace Paul Skenes on Historic Roll but Downplays Momentum

“Every time he took the mound, you were shocked when he gave up a hit," Kelly said. "Paul is on that type of run right now, just the way that he's throwing the ball, the commanding in the zone, too. Being able to mix it up with all his pitches, it's impressive to watch."

Yet Skenes doesn’t believe he is on a roll. In fact, he argues there is no such thing as momentum in baseball, even when he pitches.

"Every five days it's a brand-new thing,” Skenes said. “At the end of the day, why does one start building off another? It's because you're executing well, and there are certainly times in the season when you're executing pitches better than others, but in terms of mentality and how you're going into each start, that's not the way to do it. Every start is new, and you can get humbled really quickly."

Maybe Skenes will be humbled the next time he takes the mound on Sunday against the Philadelphia Phillies to conclude the six-game homestand. Maybe Skenes won’t be able to match these last starts. True to Skenes’ understated ways, he is not making any predictions.

"I had a joke in college, when I would give up a couple runs or something, like, 'You've got to scrap everything, raise your arm slot and start throwing your changeup more,'" Skenes said. "Really, you've just got to get back to what you do well. Nothing changes. Your routine should be the same. Good outing, bad outing, whatever. Like, just do your thing.

“Go into each start with the same goal. Big league hitters, they have bats, they drive nice cars, sometimes they're going to get to you, and you've just got to stay the same in the four or five days between starts and stay the same on your start day too."

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