Pirates' Paul Skenes faces childhood favorite Angels in series finale

Paul Skenes has started two All-Star Games, won an ERA title and garnered the 2025 National League Cy Young Award. But one thing the hard-throwing right-hander hasn't done in his career is pitch against the team he rooted for while growing up in southern California.

That will change Sunday afternoon when Skenes (9-11, 3.97 ERA) takes the mound for the Pittsburgh Pirates (70-73) when they host the Los Angeles Angels (54-88) in the rubber game of their three-game series.

Skenes starred for El Toro High School in Lake Forest, Calif., about a 25-minute drive south of Angel Stadium. It's the same high school that produced a pair of pretty talented major league third basemen named Nolan Arenado and Matt Chapman.

Skenes brings a seven-start winless streak into the contest after picking up a no-decision in his last start on Tuesday against San Francisco. He left after allowing five runs, including a three-run homer by Rafael Devers, on eight hits over 4 2/3 innings. He walked three, struck out four and departed with a six-run lead after throwing 95 pitches, 56 for strikes.

"I feel good. I think I could have gone longer," Skenes said afterward. "I don't know how many pitches I threw today, but I know they're trying to watch volume a little bit, so I'm not pushing back too much."

Skenes' last win came on July 19 in a 7-1 victory at Cleveland. Pittsburgh, trying to capture its fourth straight series, needs a win to keep its slim National League playoff hopes alive. The Pirates are five games out of the final wild-card spot with only 19 games remaining.

Right-hander Walbert Urena (9-9, 2.85 ERA), expected to receive some down-ballot votes for A.L. Rookie of the Year, gets the start for Los Angeles.

Urena, who has yielded just a .203 batting average in 23 starts, comes in off arguably the best start of his career in a 10-1 victory over the New York Yankees. He allowed one run on five hits in seven innings with no walks and tied his career high with eight strikeouts.

"No panic when you watch him," Angels manager Kurt Suzuki said of the 22-year-old Urena. "When you face the Yankees and the Phillies and the Red Sox and teams like that, there's always a little bit of a sense of anxiety and when you watch Walby from pitch one, it was zero anxiety. I think it was (11 straight strikes to start the game). That's the sign of an ace. I thought he pitched great tonight."

Los Angeles, trying to avoid the first 100-loss season in franchise history, bounced back from a 1-0 loss in Friday's series opener to defeat the Pirates, 6-1, on Saturday.

Yusei Kikuchi allowed five hits over six innings and struck out six en route to his first victory since Sept. 24, 2025 against Kansas City. Josh Lowe homered, Wade Meckler had a pair of doubles and two RBIs and Zach Neto went 3-for-5 with an RBI and a run scored to lead the Angels.

Los Angeles got a bit of a scare when Mike Trout, who went 2-for-4 with a run scored and an RBI, was hit on the left hand by a Yohan Ramirez sweeper in the ninth inning and was lifted for pinch-runner Jose Siri.

Trout underwent X-rays after the game, which came back negative.

-Field Level Media