Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes had one of the worst months of his career in July. The reigning National League Cy Young Award winner posted a 6.25 ERA across 31 2/3 innings of work. His ERA now sits at 3.90, which would by far be the highest he has ever posted in his three years in the big leagues.
Skenes has continued to naturally dominate hitters with his fastball even if it has dropped a tick in velocity given his expanded workload. The problem has simply been allowing too much hard contact.
With the Pirates pushing for their first postseason appearance in over a decade, he needs to figure it out fast.
Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
To shake things up for Skenes ahead of his start Wednesday against the Milwaukee Brewers, the team decided to make a change.
Skenes has had his own personal catcher in Henry Davis for over a year now, with Davis catching him in every game dating back to April of 2025.
However, Pittsburgh decided to turn to Endy Rodriguez to catch Skenes instead on Wednesday.
The change is likely about providing more production in the lineup to support Skenes. While Davis is an excellent defensive catcher behind the plate, he does not offer much offensively.
Rodriguez does, as this year he has been a significant plus in limited action. The 26-year-old switch hitter has posted a .268 batting average, .380 on-base percentage and .837 OPS across 127 at-bats, by far the best offensive season of his career.
With Milwaukee handing the ball to tough left-hander Kyle Harrison, the Pirates need all the help they can get in the lineup, resulting in Davis moving to the bench.
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