Pirates ace Paul Skenes, the National League Rookie of the Year, told reporters that Pittsburgh's slow start needs to be attributed to the players, "the ones playing," and not the club's management, despite the latter being the target of the fans' ire.

Skenes, who was named the NL Rookie of the Year and finished third in Cy Young voting after his first season with the Pirates, has again been dominant through two starts of his second MLB season. He has struck out 13 batters, while allowing just two walks and two earned runs, over 12.1 innings of work.

Paul Skenes needed nearly three innings to warm up, then struck out six over seven innings and the Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Tampa Bay Rays 4-2 at George M.