CINCINNATI — Paul Skenes needed just 3 ⅓ scoreless innings to finish his season with a sub-2.00 ERA and presumably lock up the Cy Young Award. He did that easily.

Then he threw a fourth. And a fifth. And a sixth.

On a day Skenes could have focused on personal accolades, he reached two milestones and went further, throwing six scoreless innings in a game the Pirates were playing for pride. The Reds staged a ninth-inning comeback against Dennis Santana that cost Skenes a win, but Spencer Horwitz’s game-winning double in the 11th inning led the Pirates to a 4-3 win against the Reds on Wednesday night at Great American Ball Park.

The performance was Skenes’ season finale. He’ll end 2025 with a 1.97 ERA, the lowest by a Pirates starter with at least 140 innings pitched since 1916.

The Pirat

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