The Pittsburgh Pirates laid the lumber on the Washington Nationals on Monday with an inning for the ages.
The Pirates had Paul Skenes on the mound, who historically hasn’t gotten a lot of run support throughout his young career. That wasn’t the case against the Nationals in front of a raucous home crowd at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Pa.
The home team scored five early runs through the first three innings. But the serious damage was done in the 6th, where the Pirates bashed the life out of the Nationals’ pitchers to the tune of 10 runs.
The scoring avalanche began with a bases-clearing triple off the bat of Bryan Reynolds, who got driven on a booming double from Ryan O’Hearn one pitch later.
94 SECONDS OF PURE BUCCO BASEBALL. 🙂↕️ pic.twitter.com/fGZnQBWHlM
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) April 14, 2026
Konnor Griffin and Oneil Cruz drove in three more via a pair of singles before Brandon Lowe provided the exclamation point with a 3-run homer.
🎶 WAY UP, WAY UP, WE GO 🎶 pic.twitter.com/61qogZcIic
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) April 14, 2026
The Pirates ran away with this one 16-5 in what was the most run support Skenes has ever received as a major leaguer.
Skenes has made four starts this season, and Pittsburgh has plated seven or more runs each time he’s taken the field thus far. Last season, the Pirates scored five or more runs in just three of Skenes’ 32 starts.
It’s a welcome change for both Skenes and Pirates fans everywhere, small sample size or not.
