Pittsburg, PA
Pirates Superstar Named Cy Young Finalist
PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Pirates have of one of the best players in baseball and he is up for the top award for his position.
Pittsburgh Pirates right-handed starting pitcher Paul Skenes earned one of the finalist spots for the National League Cy Young Award.
Dominant on the hill, and now Paul Skenes is officially a Cy Young Finalist. pic.twitter.com/gHYHXptDKT
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) November 4, 2025
Skenes is up against right-handed pitchers in Cristopher Sánchez from the Philadelphia Phillies and Yoshinobu Yamamoto from the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Sánchez posted a 13-5 record over 32 starts, a 2.50 ERA over 202.0 innings pitched, 212 strikeouts to 44 walks, a 1.06 WHIP and a .227 opposing batting average.
Yamamoto had a 12-8 record in 30 starts, a 2.49 ERA over 173.2 innings pitched, 201 strikeouts to 59 walks, a 0.99 WHIP and a .183 opposing batting average.
Skenes had just a 10-10 record in 32 starts with the Pirates, but a 1.97 ERA over 187.2 innings pitched, 216 strikeouts to 42 walks, a .199 opposing batting average and a 0.95 WHIP, along with a 10.36 K/9, a 2.01 BB/9 and a 5.14 K/BB.
He ranked amongst the best pitchers in the MLB, with the lowest ERA, tied for the fourth most strikeouts, the fourth lowest WHIP, the sixth lowest batting average and the 10th most innings pitched, plus the fifth best K/BB, seventh best K/9 and ninth best BB/9.
Skenes also ranked highly in the NL, with the lowest WHIP, the fourth lowest batting average, tied for the second most strikeouts and the fourth most innings pitched, as well as the second best K/BB and both the fifth best K/9 and BB/9.
His play made him the starting pitcher for the NL in the All-Star Game, becoming the first pitcher to start consecutive All-Star games in the first two seasons in the MLB.
Skenes also earned accolades for his play, with Baseball Digest naming him their Pitcher of the Year, the MLB Players Association Choice Awards naming him the NL Outstanding Pitcher of the Year and Sporting News naming Skenes to their All-Star team.
This 2025 campaign for Skenes was historic, as he broke numerous records, both in baseball and for the franchise.
He was the first NL pitcher with a sub-2.00 ERA and 200+ strikeouts since right-hander Jacob DeGrom did it with the New York Mets in 2018. He is the first MLB pitcher to finish with a sub-2.00 ERA in a season since right-hander Justin Verlander did so with the Houston Astros in 2022.
Skenes became the first pitcher in MLB history to finish with 200+ strikeouts and a sub-2.00 ERA and still not have a winning record, since ERA became a stat in 1913.
He was the first qualified pitcher to post a sub-2.00 ERA in a season at 23 years or younger, since right-hander Dwight Gooden did so at age 20 with the Mets in 1985.
Skenes also made Pirates history, with his 216 strikeouts the most for a right-handed pitcher in the live-ball era (since 1920). Only Ed Morris, who had 326 strikeouts in 1886 and 298 strikeouts in 1885, the most and second most in a season in franchise history, has more than him.
His 216 strikeouts rank seventh most in a season in franchise history and fifth most in the live-ball era.
Skenes is just one of three Pirates pitchers that led the MLB in ERA, with right-hander John Candelaria last doing so in 1977 and right-hander Cy Blanton doing it first in 1935, according to OptaStats.
The Pirates have only had two Cy Young Award winners in franchise history, with Pirates Hall of Famer Vern Law winning it in 1960, when it was one MLB award, and Doug Drabek winning the NL Cy Young in 1990.
Law had his best season with the Pirates in that 1960 season, with a 20-9 record, NL-high 18 complete games, a 3.08 ERA over 271.2 innings pitched, 120 strikeouts to 40 walks, a 1.13 WHIP and an opposing batting average of .257.
Drabek had a 22-6 record in 33 starts, a 2.76 ERA over 231.1 innings pitched, 131 strikeouts to 56 walks, a .225 opposing batting average and a 1.06 WHIP.
Skenes had a shot at the NL Cy Young last season, but finished third in the voting, with Atlanta Braves left-handed pitcher Chris Sale winning it.
Make sure to visit Pirates OnSI for the latest news, updates, interviews and insight on the Pittsburgh Pirates
Pittsburg softball improved to 16-4 on the season by sweeping host Kansas City Piper 17-1 in five innings and 15-3 in six innings Saturday afternoon.
Breck Slaughter earned the win in both games. She allowed one run on two hits with 10 strikeouts and two walks over five innings during the opener. Then, she allowed one run on two hits with three strikeouts and two walks over three innings.
AnnaLynn Hudson pitched the last three innings of the day for the Purple Dragons.
Offensively, Pittsburg scored 17 runs on 20 hits during the opener and all nine Dragons reached the hit column. Kenleigh Warford led with four hits, Breck Slaughter and Micah Gomez each had three and Brecken Campbell, Brette Pasteur, Laney Trisler and Emily Shriver each had two. Slaughter, Trisler and Gomez each doubled twice and Pasteur and Shriver also recorded two-baggers. Brilee Mantooth homered. Gomez led the Dragons with four RBI, Campbell had three and Trisler, Mantooth and Shriver drove in two each.
The Dragons closed out their sweep with 15 runs on just 11 hits. Pasteur had a monster performance at the plate with four runs scored, three hits in three at-bats, two home runs and five RBI; she also worked a pair of walks and proved to be an utter pain for Piper pitchers Reagan Asbury and Harper Cordill.
Campbell also homered and finished with three hits for the Dragons. Slaughter and Shriver both finished with two hits and both seniors doubled.
Pittsburg won four games during the week and outscored Labette County, Independence and Piper by a combined 59-11. The Dragons return to Southeast Kansas League play on the road Monday against Independence; the Dragons beat the Bulldogs 14-1 in five innings last Thursday in Pittsburg.
The Dragons are looking to wrap up at least a share of the SEK League title.
Pittsburg 612 44 — 17 20 0
KC Piper 000 01 — 1 2 5
Breck Slaughter and Peyton Morey; Stella Utter and Ginny Garcia. W: Slaughter. L: Utter. 2B—PHS: Slaughter 2, Brette Pasteur, Emily Shriver, Laney Trisler 2, Micah Gomez 2; KCP: Faith Flournoy. HR—PHS: Brilee Mantooth.
——
Pittsburg 225 105 — 15 7 2
KC Piper 100 101 — 3 6 6
Breck Slaughter, AnnaLynn Hudson (4) and Peyton Morey; Reagan Asbury, Harper Cordill (5) and Faith Flournoy. W: Slaughter. L: Asbury. 2B—PHS: Slaughter. HR—PHs: Brecken Campbell, Brette Pasteur 2; KCP: Ginny Garcia.
This sports reporting is made possible, in part, by the Support Local Journalism Project Fund. Learn more at: southeastkansas.org/fund/support-local-journalism-project-fund/
Pittsburg, PA
Steelers insider just poured gasoline on the Aaron Rodgers fire following latest report of what he was doing in Pittsburgh
Aaron Rodgers was supposed to be in Pittsburgh over the weekend, with the thought that a deal would get done. One Steelers insider backs the report, but adds details that only compound a messy situation.
Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
At this point, the events of the past two seasons between Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers could probably be a book or movie. Everything from walks on the beach, to him throwing with DK Metcalf before signing, to someone capturing him driving a rental car into Pittsburgh has made waves.
This offseason was supposed to be different, and a decision from Rodgers was supposed to come much earlier. However, the Steelers remain in a holding pattern, and one that many believed would end over the weekend, after it was reported that Rodgers would be in town to sign a contract. Well, that seems to be true, but like much of this saga over the past two years, there seems to be a holdup.
Aaron Rodgers 2025 stats
- 3.4 TD to INT ratio.
- 3,322 passing yards.
- 65.7% completion percentage.
Aaron Rodgers visited Pittsburgh, but not the Steelers over the weekend
“Aaron Rodgers has been in town for a couple days, but the Steelers have not met with him yet and instead have been talking with his agent. Rodgers has stayed away from the team’s South Side facility while the three-day rookie minicamp has been going on.” – Gerry Dulac, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The news from Dulac comes on the heels of the report from 93.7 The Fan in Pittsburgh that Rodgers would be visiting the Steelers over the weekend, with the intention to sign his deal.
That report was backed up nationally by NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport, but some in Steelers media (Mark Kaboly) said that if Rodgers was going to be in town, that was news to the team.
Omar Khan said as much during a radio hit after the reports surfaced, saying that he didn’t know where Rodgers was, but that talks remained fluid. Of course, general managers, including Omar Khan, have been known to bend the truth, which seems to lie somewhere in the middle here.
The bottom line with Aaron Rodgers
It’s obvious to me that the Steelers and Rodgers are held up over money. I know that it was said to not be the case, but you don’t intentionally avoid meeting with a team and have your agent talk to them, just days after they use a tender that determines your 2026 salary, if you’re just going to sign.
I would be surprised if Rodgers doesn’t sign at this point, but it doesn’t change the monetary situation that needs to be worked out here.
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