Why were we worried about Paul Skenes again? Plus: A weird bout of injuries

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Skenes allowed five earned runs in just 2/3 of an inning to — and in hindsight, wow — the Mets. Well, last night, Skenes pitched eight scoreless innings, allowing just two hits and no walks, striking out seven Diamondbacks as the Pirates won 1-0 and improved to 20-17. Skenes is now 5-2, and his ERA has dropped from 67.50 (after that first start) to 2.36. Improbably, Skenes has somehow been better in Year 3 than in Years 1 (NL Rookie of the Year) or 2 (NL Cy Young award winner). Here’s a short list of stats that are career bests for Skenes this year: Those last two are particularly interesting to me. Why? Because he’s also posting a career-worst 9.86 K/9. We’ll have to do a deep dive soon to see why (quick, put out the Eno Sarris Bat-Signal!), but on the surface, it looks like fewer strikeouts = better efficiency. Today, we have an excerpt from Ken Rosenthal’s latest league-wide notes column. You can read the whole thing here. ⚾ Is Miami pitcher Sandy Alcantara a goner? Maybe not. The Marlins’ demotion of  struggling catcher Agustin Ramírez on Monday to make room for top prospect Joe Mack did not attract nearly as much attention as the Yankees’ decision to option shortstop Anthony Volpe. But it demonstrated the same type of front-office urgency. When it comes to the Marlins, the term “urgency” is relative. Their estimated $73 million dollar payroll is the lowest in the majors, and less than one-fourth that of the Yankees. But the front office, at least with its handling of the roster, is trying to win. Another example happened Tuesday, when the Marlins designated right-hander Chris Paddack for assignment. Paddack, the team’s third-highest-paid player after signing a one-year, $4 million free-agent contract, had a 7.63 ERA in 30 2/3 innings. His expected ERA was a more encouraging 4.36, but the Marlins jettisoned him to make room for top prospect Robbie Snelling, who will start Friday night. Braxton Garrett and another top prospect, Thomas White, also are excelling at Triple A. Another question the team might face — whether the return of Garrett from major elbow surgery and emergences of Snelling and White might prompt a trade of staff ace Sandy Alcantara at the deadline — is more complicated. Alcantara’s importance to the team goes beyond his ERA, which after 47 1/3 innings is 3.04. Alcantara, 30, is a leader in the clubhouse, highly respected in the community, a favorite of owner Bruce Sherman. He also is earning $17.3 million with a $21 million club option for next season. Only one other Marlins player, closer Pete Fairbanks, is earning more than $2.81 million. The Marlins’ younger pitchers are promising. But as long as the team remains in contention, a trade of Alcantara would send the wrong message. The Marlins, if they are fortunate enough to develop a surplus in their rotation, perhaps can move Janson Junk, 30, or Max Meyer, 27, instead.  ⚾ L.A. catcher Will Smith’s quiet Hall of Fame case In his most recent list of active players who might be headed to the Hall of Fame, The Athletic’s Jayson Stark included the Dodgers’ Will Smith for the first time. That was last July. Smith has since won his third World Series. His quiet case for Cooperstown, befitting for his low-key personality, is only getting stronger. Smith wasn’t a Rookie of the Year or MVP like former catcher Buster Posey was, but Smith has already matched Posey in World Series titles. Smith’s offensive profile is similar to where Posey’s was at the same point of his career. And Smith, 31, figures to play longer than Posey, who retired at 34. Smith is signed through his age 38 season. We found out pretty early in the day yesterday that Astros 3B/SS Carlos Correa’s ankle injury was, in fact, a pretty big deal. He will have surgery to repair a torn tendon and miss the rest of this season. That came on the same day that the Astros lost 12-2 to the Dodgers, and may have lost Lance McCullers to the IL again, because … his fingernail fell off, leaving Houston’s rotation in even more disarray. At 15-23, time is running out for the Astros to patch all the pitching holes. But McCullers’ wasn’t the oddest injury of the day. Cubs starter Matthew Boyd, who had just returned from the IL with a left biceps strain, injured himself before he even got to the park. While playing with his kids, Boyd suffered a meniscus injury in his left knee. The Cubs won’t know til after his surgery if the recovery timeline is weeks, or months. Boyd joins Justin Steele, Cade Horton and seven other pitchers on Chicago’s IL. And yet … well, more on that in the next section. But we’re not done here yet, because … While there weren’t any injuries, there was still some pain as the White Sox and Angels made history: It was the first time (in at least the last 70 seasons) two teams combined for three bases-loaded hit-by-pitches in one game. And of course there were also a few “normal” injuries. Royals southpaw Cole Ragans left his start with triceps and elbow soreness, and will undergo testing. And Dodgers starter Tyler Glasnow exited after 19 pitches with another case of “tall guy back,” but is expected to avoid the IL. It crossed my mind, as a funny little joke, to just copy/paste yesterday’s section here and update the numbers, because the Cubs still lead baseball in walk-off wins (it’s six now), and they did it against the same Reds team as the night before (and the night before that). This time, the drama was cranked up about as far as these things go in the first week of May. Already overtaking a Cincinnati team that jumped out to an early division lead, the Cubs were on the brink of a sweep that would feel truly catastrophic for the Reds. Cincinnati made it interesting with a four-run top of the ninth that featured a rare two-run sac fly (more on that in a sec), but Pete Crow-Armstrong’s two-run homer tied it in the bottom of the ninth, and a bases-loaded walk sealed the deal. Three straight walk-off wins against the Reds. (Is that a “sweep-off?”) Fourteen straight wins at home. The Cubs are 25-12 and cruising. It happens every few years. A fielder is out of position or — in the case of Seiya Suzuki last night — falls on their backside while catching the ball. As a result, the runner from second scores, and a batter gets two RBIs on a sac fly. So I got curious: Has there ever been a three-RBI sac fly?! Of course not. That’s absurd. Far too absurd a premise to spend two hours researching it, that’s for sure; I definitely didn’t do that. But I was able to find one three-run sac fly: Starlin Castro of the Marlins hit one that cleared the bases against the Pirates. (Naturally, that happened on Friday the 13th of April, 2018.) But the last two runs scored on an error. Oh well. More Reds: Closer Emilio Pagán will miss 4-8 weeks with a Grade 2 hamstring strain. Ted Turner passed away yesterday at 87 years old. Tyler Kepner tells a little more of Turner’s story, from his early days as a free-wheeling maverick owner through the Braves’ ascent to one of the league’s model franchises. Three-plus years after the shift was banned, base hits haven’t really gone up. Cody Stavenhagen and Stephen Nesbitt explain why — and ask if it really matters. I really enjoyed this story from Amy Cuddy, laying out the ways that superstitions — or rather “rituals” — can actually be beneficial to baseball players. In Detroit: Framber Váldez was suspended five games for intentionally throwing a fastball at Trevor Story, and the Tigers fired their Triple-A manager after alleged harassment claims. Sheesh, what a week. When it comes to agitating opponents, Dodgers catcher Dalton Rushing is entering A.J. Pierzynski territory. Pierzynski, Rushing and the catcher’s teammates all weigh in on what it means to find the line between competitor and problem. This weekend, the Braves and Dodgers face off. Jesús Cano tells us the four biggest factors in Atlanta’s early success. Keith Law has the White Sox with a surprise first pick in his Mock Draft 1.0. Most-clicked in our last newsletter: Jim Bowden’s story on pitchers who could be traded at this year’s deadline. 📫 Love The Windup? Check out The Athletic’s other newsletters. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms