Skenes urges Pirates to 'look in the mirror' after playoff elimination

Paul Skenes told his Pittsburgh Pirates teammates to “look in the mirror” after the club was eliminated from playoff contention two weeks before the season’s end. The 23-year-old right-hander, dating TikTok sensation and former gymnast Livvy Dunne, has not reached the postseason in his first two years in Pittsburgh, though his mound presence has made him a frontrunner for major individual honors in 2025. Skenes has insisted that he pitches for the team, not for awards, while acknowledging that the Pirates still have work to do to turn the season around.

The season began with postseason optimism for Pittsburgh, but a nightmare start — 12-26 — proved costly for a franchise striving to end a long playoff drought. The skid was a major reason for the firing of manager Derek Shelton, with Don Kelly stepping in as interim manager. As the club entered its final home series against the Oakland Athletics, Pittsburgh sat on the fringes of contention and had dropped 11 of 12 games, effectively ending its playoff chances and sealing what would be the Pirates’ 29th losing season since 1992. The offense, historically one of the league’s weakest units, remained a primary obstacle, while Skenes carried the load on the mound.

Despite the team’s struggles, Skenes has been the game’s most dominant pitcher in many metrics. He owns a MLB-leading 2.03 ERA with 209 strikeouts and a .199 batting average against, while compiling a 10-10 record heading into what is expected to be his final start of the season early next week in Cincinnati. No starting pitcher has captured the Cy Young Award with a sub-.500 record, and Skenes remains the heavy favorite to be named the league’s top pitcher come November 20.

Even as Pittsburgh looks ahead to 2026, Skenes emphasized the need for internal improvement. “There’s room to get better in this locker room,” he said. “We just need to do it. I’m sure we’ll get some pieces and do all that, but my mind right now is ‘What can we do within the locker room to get better, now and for next year?’ There’s urgency to it, and we need to understand that and act on it.” He added that many players would need to “take a look in the mirror, figure out what it is that they need to get better at, and make sacrifices to do that.”

Even amid a disappointing season, Skenes has shown a commitment to the community. On an otherwise rare Thursday off day, he delivered meals to firefighters and first responders at a station in the suburbs, joking that it was a bit of a bummer he didn’t get to blare the horn on one of the trucks. His status remains under Pirates control for the rest of the decade, though questions about an extension have not featured prominently in season-long discussions. General manager Ben Cherington has faced questions about potential trades, but there have been no talks about an extension, and the club has publicly underscored its belief in Skenes’s future.

“I’ll figure it out. I’ll figure out exactly what it is. I know I can get better. Just got to figure out what it is,” Skenes said, signaling that his focus remains on preparation and improvement as Pittsburgh looks to rebound in 2026.