How a revved-up offense — and the usual brilliance of Paul Skenes — is revitalizing the Pirates

Welcome to Sliders, a weekly in-season MLB column that focuses on both the timely and timeless elements of the game.As long as Paul Skenes pitches for the Pittsburgh Pirates, he will always be their headliner. He is just that good.“The last stretch, it’s almost like he’s just decided, ‘All right, not only am I going to have really good stuff to punch a lot of guys out, but I’m not going to walk anybody and I’m not going to give up any hits,’” general manager Ben Cherington said this week, after Skenes’ second consecutive outing of eight shutout innings, with no walks and two hits allowed.Advertisement