Houston Astros at Pittsburgh Pirates

· Major League Baseball

Houston Astros

33-27, 11-15 Away

Final
3 - 0

Pittsburgh Pirates

22-39, 13-17 Home

McCullers outduels Skenes for 1st win since 2022 as Astros blank Pirates 3-0

Houston Astros vs. Pittsburgh Pirates: Game Highlights

McCullers (1-1) won a tight duel with Pirates ace Paul Skenes, allowing just two hits and one walk while striking out seven. It was his first win since Sept. 21, 2022, at Tampa Bay.

The right-hander missed the past two seasons because of injuries, then was winless in his first five starts this year after being activated from the injured list on May 4.

Skenes (4-6) was nearly as dazzling in defeat, giving up one run and three hits in eight innings. He struck out eight and walked one as the Pirates lost for the third time in four games.

Skenes’ record is two games under .500 despite a 2.05 ERA.

Walker hit a first-pitch sweeper from Skenes into the left-field bleachers with one out in the seventh to break a scoreless tie. It was the first baseman’s eighth home run this season.

Paredes added a two-run shot in the ninth, his 12th, off Dennis Santana.

Shawn Dubin, Bryan Abreu and Josh Hader worked an inning apiece to complete the four-hitter. Hader his converted all 16 of his save opportunities this season.

Houston won the opener of a three-game series for its seventh victory in nine games.

The Astros pitched their sixth shutout of the year. The Pirates have been blanked 10 times in 61 games.

Key moment With the Pirates down 1-0 and runners on first and second with one out in the eighth, Oneil Cruz grounded into a forceout. Then he was caught stealing to end the inning.

Key stat Skenes has pitched at least eight innings three times in his two-year career and the Pirates have lost all three games.

Up next Ryan Gusto (3-2, 4.62 ERA) starts Wednesday night for Houston against fellow rookie right-hander Mike Burrows (0-1, 8.64).

AP MLB: https://apn.500ews.com/hub/mlb

How can I watch Houston Astros vs. Pittsburgh Pirates?

TV Channel: Astros at Pirates 2022 MLB Baseball, is broadcasted on MLB.TV.
Online streaming: Sign up for Fubo.

Scoring Summary

	9th Inning	Canario struck out swinging.
	9th Inning	Pham struck out swinging.
	9th Inning	Pham hit for Horwitz
	9th Inning	Reynolds lined out to center.
	9th Inning	Hader relieved Abreu
	9th Inning	Caratini fouled out to third.

Statistics

HOU		PIT
1	Games Played	1
1	Team Games Played	1
0	Hit By Pitch	1
11	Ground Balls	10
8	Strikeouts	9
3	Runs Batted In	0
0	Sacrifice Hit	0
5	Hits	4
1	Stolen Bases	1
1	Walks	1
0	Catcher Interference	1
3	Runs	0
1	Ground Into Double Play	0
0	Sacrifice Flies	0
32	At Bats	29
2	Home Runs	0
0	Grand Slam Home Runs	0
8	Runners Left On Base	10
0	Triples	0
1	Game Winning RBIs	0
0	Intentional Walks	0
1	Doubles	0
13	Fly Balls	10
0	Caught Stealing	2
115	Pitches	132
0	Games Started	0
0	Pinch At Bats	1
0	Pinch Hits	0
0.0	Player Rating	0.0
1	Is Qualified	1
1	Is Qualified In Steals	1
12	Total Bases	4
33	Plate Appearances	32
324.0	Projected Home Runs	0.0
3	Extra Base Hits	0
2.0	Runs Created	-0.4
.156	Batting Average	.138
.000	Pinch Hit Average	.000
.375	Slugging Percentage	.138
.281	Secondary Average	.000
.182	On Base Percentage	.194
.557	OBP Pct + SLG Pct	.331
0.8	Ground To Fly Ball Ratio	1.0
1.9	Runs Created Per 27 Outs	-0.4
26.0	Batter Rating	5.0
16.0	At Bats Per Home Run	0.0
1.00	Stolen Base Percentage	0.33
3.48	Pitches Per Plate Appearance	4.13
.219	Isolated Power	.000
0.13	Walk To Strikeout Ratio	0.11
.030	Walks Per Plate Appearance	.031
.125	Secondary Average Minus Batting Average	-.138
6.0	Runs Produced	0.0
1.0	Runs Ratio	0.0
0.4	Patience Ratio	0.2
0.1	Balls In Play Average	0.2
73.8	MLB Rating	58.8
0.0	Offensive Wins Above Replacement	0.0
0.0	Wins Above Replacement	0.0