(Photo credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images)

Reigning National League Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes will try to prove his first start of 2026 was an aberration when he takes the mound again on Wednesday afternoon against the host Cincinnati Reds.

Skenes (0-1, 67.50 ERA) will oppose Reds left-hander Andrew Abbott (0-0, 0.00 ERA).

In the Pirates' season opener on Thursday against the New York Mets, Skenes produced the shortest and worst outing of his thus-far stellar major league career.

The 23-year-old right-hander threw just 37 pitches and recorded only two outs before exiting. Skenes allowed five runs on four hits, walked two and struck out one in a game Pittsburgh lost 11-7.

It matched the most earned runs Skenes has allowed in a start, and it was more than he allowed in the first inning combined of all 32 of his outings in 2025.

Two miscues in center field by Oneil Cruz compounded the issues for Skenes and the Pirates during that disastrous first inning. Cruz misjudged a fly ball by Brent Baty, which landed for a bases-clearing triple instead of what could have been the second out of the inning. He then missed a fly ball by Marcus Semien, which led to an additional run.

'I don't know, maybe a little frustrating, but I just got to execute,' Skenes said. 'But (the Mets) did a good job.'

The poor performance came as a major shock for Skenes, who has been so dominant during his first two full seasons.

Skenes had a 1.97 ERA and struck out 216 batters in 187 2/3 innings last season.

This spring, Skenes made two starts for Team USA during the World Baseball Classic, striking out nine over 8 1/3 innings while permitting just one run.

Facing the Reds, who struggled at the plate on Tuesday in an 8-3 loss to the Pirates, could be Skenes' perfect antidote. Skenes is 4-0 with a 0.31 ERA in five career starts against Cincinnati, having allowed only one run in 29 innings. He has struck out 40 Reds batters while walking just two.

The Reds went 0-for-10 with runners in scoring position on Tuesday, leaving 11 on base, despite being held hitless through the first six innings. Back-to-back homers by Elly De La Cruz and rookie Sal Stewart nearly sparked a comeback in the eighth, but it wasn't enough.

Cincinnati is waiting for two of its key bats to break out of early slumps. Leadoff man TJ Friedl is off to a 2-for-20 start, and Eugenio Suarez is 4-for-21 (.190).

The move to put Stewart in the cleanup spot has paid off so far, however. Hitting in front of Suarez, Stewart is 9-for-16 with two home runs, including one on Tuesday.

'It feels really good to know that Tito (Reds manager Terry Francona) has that faith in me,' Stewart said recently. 'That's a really big compliment. I know that. I definitely don't take it lightly. I trust Tito. I really do. He is who he is because he knows what he's doing.'

Abbott gave up seven hits but pitched six shutout innings, struck out four and walked one in the Reds' 3-0 season-opening loss to the Boston Red Sox on Thursday. The 26-year-old left-hander is 2-0 with a 3.00 ERA in three career starts against the Pirates.

--Field Level Media