There is a reason why a pitcher's record is simply not good enough to be a singular basis of how good one is on the mound. Pittsburgh Pirates star Paul Skenes makes for one great example of that. So far in the 2025 MLB regular season, Skenes is only just 4-6 through 14 starts, even though he sports one of the best ERAs in the big leagues.

Skenes further lowered his 2025 ERA to just 1.88 following a sterling outing in Sunday's series finale against the Philadelphia Phillies at PNC Park in Pittsburgh. He went 7 1/3 innings on the mound, holding the Phillies to just a run on two hits while striking out seven along the way.

However, there was simply not much run support behind him during his stint on the hill. He left the mound with the score tied at 1-1, and it was not until the eighth inning that Pittsburgh scored another run when Andrew McCutchen had a single RBI that eventually gave Pittsburgh the 2-1 victory.

In other words, it was yet another no-decision for Skenes.

Through Monday, Skenes' ERA is sixth-best among all starters in the big leagues with at least 60 innings pitched. And among all pitchers within that parameter, only Skenes is getting the 11th-fewest run support per nine innings (3.16), per FanGraphs. Skenes' lack of wins despite his incredible ERA is an indictment of Pittsburgh's paltry offense.

As if Paul Skenes isn't enough of an example, another Pirates pitcher, Mitch Keller, is getting the fewest run support per nine innings as a starter (minimum of 60 IP) with just 2.24.

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Pittsburgh's bats are simply lackluster in 2025. The Pirates are 27th overall with a .288 wOBA and 28th with an 80 wRC+.

Nevertheless, Skenes seemed to be fine not getting a pitching win against the Phillies, as the Pirates came away with a victory — and a series sweep.

“I think we've been playing pretty good ball for a little bit now and either haven't come out with [wins] or lost by a run or something like that in a few games,” Skenes said, per the Associated Press (h/t ESPN). “I've been happy with the baseball we've been playing. It's nice to finally get some wins out of it, too. It's easy to go on a losing streak, too, so we've just got to keep going.”

The 26-40 Pirates will look to sustain their form when they start a three-game series at home this Monday versus the visiting Miami Marlins.