Well, that was a first! Paul Skenes, the guy who has been nothing but borderline untouchable since day one, had a tough night. The St. Louis Cardinals gave him a rather grounding experience. They handed him five earned runs – the most that he has ever allowed in a single outing. This stat covers the 74 starts he made across college and the minors, and the majors. Skenes all this while not once had given up more than four– at least not until now.

The Pittsburgh Pirates lost 5-3, but the story wasn’t just about the score. It’s how the Cardinals managed to shake up Skenes. They made solid contact, and they attacked when there were some early mistakes made. One thing is for sure—the Cardinals used their know-how on how to face Skenes. They faced him a fourth time, and it showed.

For the Pittsburgh Pirates, a team already so shaken up with drama – this isn’t looking good. And twisting the knife a little deeper was none other than Buster Olney. In his podcast, Buster couldn’t help but take a little dig. “I don’t get it. I was really cold with the Cardinals playing the Pirates in Pittsburgh. Maybe that affected Paul Skenes, who had the worst outing of his career.” Ouch! But that being said, it was really cold there, maybe 38 degrees at first pitch. So maybe Skenes fingers were frozen! But in the end, it wasn’t just the weather talking; the Cardinals were simply better.

Skenes wasn’t panicking though, and said he is not loosing his sleep over it. “They just got to a couple pitches. It’s not like they hit the ball into the river or anything like that. They just found some holes, and I got behind in some counts and kind of let them get good swings off.” And well, Skenes definitely still brought the heat, averaging 97.7 mph and touching 99.

Moreover Paul Skenes finished with 6 IP, 6 H, 5 ER, 1 BB, and 7 K. So not exactly a disaster. But for someone who has been nothing but sharp this long—even a single hiccup can look out of the blue. His ERA did jump from 1.46 to 3.44, but he is still among the crème de la crème when it comes to strikeouts and WHIP. And when he comes back on the mound on Monday against the Nationals, a prove-it round definitely will begin.

Pittsburgh Pirates have more to worry about beyond Paul Skenes’ bad night

But the Pirates have seriously have a lot more in their plate. The real punch in this entire series was not what happened on the mound but the stands! On Tuesday just 8,291 fans showed up at PNC Park. This many to watch Skenes first home start of the season. It was not just low; it was embarrassing. A generational talent, against a division rival, and the place was a ghost town. And making matters dire is even fans and analysts are taking a dig at this. David Samson infact said, “Paul Skenes doesn’t draw attendance.” Ouch, that might hurt, given how Skenes is seen as a face of baseball by some.

But the reality is -more than 30,000 seats sat empty and cold. Sure, it was cold and cloudy; people massively didn’t come. But that’ cant be the excuse. Take Detroit, for example, who had over 14,000 fans come in to watch Tarik Skubal pitching. There the temperature was 34 degrees, 4 degrees less than Pittsburgh. And the night before, it even snowed; still, they braved it and came. So it’s not the weather talking.

It was the Pirates fans vs. Bob Nutting. It’s just years of frustration boiling over the ownership. The fans are tired of empty promises and just tight budgets. The constant talk of a bright future is not luring them anymore. They are watching Skenes, literally a generational talent stuck in what seems like a sub-par team. And Nutting is not building around him.

The sell the team mantra during the opening week was loud and clear. But the silence in the stands—they spoke even louder. When a fan base doesn’t show up, it’s really serious. Don’t you think? Let us know your thoughts on this silent protest.