Paul Skenes is coming off his best start of the season and arguably his career. And the Pittsburgh Pirates would love to see more of that Tuesday night when they host the Colorado Rockies in the opener of a three-game series.

Skenes (5-2, 2.36 ERA) pitched eight shutout innings and flirted with a perfect game for the first 4 2/3 of those frames while helping the Pirates blank the Diamondbacks 1-0 last Wednesday in Arizona.

Colorado will counter with right-hander Michael Lorenzen (2-4, 6.92) as it tries to avoid a three-game skid after losing the final two games this past weekend in Philadelphia.

Pittsburgh is coming off a frustrating 7-6 loss in 12 innings Sunday at San Francisco and has lost two of three after winning five of its previous six.

Skenes bounced back from a subpar outing April 30 against the St. Louis Cardinals by striking out seven and allowing only two hits over those eight frames against Arizona.

It was the fourth time in his career that Skenes pitched at least eight innings, and he continually kept the ball in play for his defense, inducing 12 fly balls and five ground balls.

He retired the first 14 batters he faced before allowing an infield single to Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and a single to Nolan Arenado. He then retired the final 10 he faced in a row.

“It always goes back to execution,” said Skenes, who is 1-0 with a 3.00 ERA in two career starts against the Rockies. “It’s not easy, but it’s simple. If you execute your pitches, it’s going to go the way you want. These games are fun to pitch in, for sure.”

Pittsburgh is hoping Oneil Cruz is beginning to break out of a recent slump. Cruz hit his 10th home run of the season on Sunday after hitting .194 with 39 strikeouts in his previous 22 games.

The Rockies are in a similar hopeful mode when it comes to struggling shortstop Ezequiel Tovar, who had two hits in Sunday’s 6-0 loss to the Phillies.

Tovar recorded his first multi-hit game since April 24 and managed both his hits off Phillies starter Cristopher Sanchez, who is on a streak of 20 2/3 consecutive scoreless innings. Tovar is one of several Rockies struggling at the plate, but his poor start has been eye-opening. Tovar is hitting .197 with a .522 OPS, one home run and 10 RBIs heading into Tuesday’s game.

Tovar has struggled with chasing too many pitches — especially breaking balls — out of the zone from right-handed pitchers. As he prepares to face the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner, Tovar hopes Sunday’s positive results are the start of a turnaround.

“I feel more comfortable taking the balls out of the zone, and we’re working on that,” Tovar said. “I’d love to prove I can do that, but I feel better. And as a team, we’re making better decisions.”

Lorenzen is 7-2 with a 2.67 ERA in 44 career appearances (five starts) and 81 innings overall against the Pirates.

The Rockies hope to give Lorenzen any possible run support against Skenes. Lorenzen is coming off a rough outing last Wednesday at home against the Mets, in which he allowed seven runs on 11 hits, including four extra-base hits, walked three and struck out two over five innings in a 10-5 loss.

–Field Level Media