PITTSBURGH (AP) — The Pittsburgh Pirates let Paul Skenes take on a more normal workload again.

What did not change was his effectiveness.

Skenes struck out nine in six three-hit innings, and the Pirates shut out Arizona for a second straight day, beating the Diamondbacks 6-0 on Sunday. It was the fourth scoreless outing in Skenes’ last five starts, but this time he threw 99 pitches — his most in over a month.

“Ramping him back up a little bit,” manager Don Kelly said.

Pittsburgh’s pitching staff is on a bit of a roll right now. The Pirates beat Detroit 6-1 on Wednesday, then lost 1-0 in 11 innings to Arizona on Friday night — the only run in that game was unearned after the Diamondbacks started the final inning with a man on second.

Then Pittsburgh outscored Arizona 8-0 over the final two games of the series.

This was the most pitches by Skenes since he threw 105 at Detroit on June 19. In his next five starts, he did not throw more than 88.

Kelly visited the mound in the sixth, drawing boos, but left Skenes in to complete the frame.

“It’s a hot day, he’s approaching 100 pitches. … We’ve kept his pitch count down a little bit,” Kelly said. “Just wanted to make sure that he was in a good spot there to finish it off.”

Skenes has thrown 133 innings this year, matching his total as a rookie in 2024.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Skenes (6-8) is the first pitcher to have an ERA below 2 through his first 45 starts. The reigning NL Rookie of the Year sits at 1.89 for his career and a major-league best 1.83 this year.

Skenes has allowed one run or fewer in 14 of 22 starts this season after doing it 14 times as a rookie. The Pirates also gave him some run support for a change. This was only the seventh time in his 22 starts this year that Pittsburgh finished with more than three runs.

Skenes is the only starter this season who hasn’t allowed a first-inning run. He struck out two in the first, including Geraldo Perdomo, who hadn’t fanned in a league-best 39 straight at-bats.

Up next

The D-backs head to Detroit to begin a series against the Tigers on Monday, and the Pirates play at San Francisco.