Pirates' Paul Skenes takes no-hitter into sixth inning, continues return to form in dominant outing vs. Padres

Skenes' horrible Opening Day start will soon be a distant memory
Pirates ace and 2025 NL Cy Young winner Paul Skenes started the season with a disastrous Opening Day outing .

It was the worst of his career by a hefty margin.

In his second start, last Wednesday in Cincinnati, he was adequate, but not all the way back to the dominant Skenes we've come to know .

The final line: 6 ⅓ IP, 2 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 6 K
It'll take some doing to get that ERA back down to where we've grown accustomed to seeing, given that Skenes had an ERA of 1.96 through his first two seasons and allowed five earned runs in less than an inning on Opening Day, but he's worked it down from 67.50 to 5.25.

It'll continue to shrink and we'll see him at the All-Star Game again.

As for a second straight Cy Young in his second full season, Skenes put himself behind with that first start, but the odds still show him as the favorite.

Here are the top five (via Caesars ):