Paul Skenes, Pirates aim for series win over Giants

Opponents are already running out of superlatives to describe Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes, who has shown flashes of brilliance in his first two career starts. The Pirates will turn to Skenes (1-0, 2.70 ERA) on Thursday when they face the visiting San Francisco Giants in the rubber match of a three-game series. San Francisco evened the series after rallying from a five-run deficit to win 9-5 in 10 innings on Wednesday. Matt Chapman homered for the second straight game and LaMonte Wade Jr. reached base six times for the Giants, who bounced back after losing Tuesday's series opener 7-6 in 10 innings.