“First Call” for Wednesday puts the Pittsburgh Pirates’ woes with Paul Skenes pitching into historical perspective. We break down his latest challenge against Zack Wheeler on Wednesday night in Philadelphia.
There’s a resolution to the Brendan Sorsby situation with the NFL, and a former Penguin is back on an NHL bench as a coach.
Extended drought
The Pirates’ prolonged losing streak with Paul Skenes on the mound has reached eight straight games. Last year’s Cy Young winner hasn’t won a game since May 12 at home against the Colorado Rockies (3-1).
That was his last win personally. That was also the last time the Pirates won a game that Skenes started. We haven’t seen a winless stretch like that for a team playing behind a defending Cy Young Award winner since 1971.
Via the Pirates television broadcast on SportsNet Pittsburgh Tuesday night in Philadelphia, the 1971 Minnesota Twins lost 10 straight games with Jim Perry on the mound (July 5-Aug. 15). Perry won the 1970 Cy Young with Minnesota.
Individually, Perry lost eight of those games. The right-hander went from 24-12 with an ERA of 3.04 in 1970 to 17-17 with an ERA of 4.23.
Skenes and his teammates will try to snap their streak Wednesday night (6:40 pm) against the Phillies. It’s the third of a four-game set. The teams have split the first two contests, with Pittsburgh winning 11-7 on Monday. Philly bounced back with an 8-0 win Tuesday.
Primetime pitchers
When Skenes (6-7, 3.10 ERA) takes the mound Wednesday, he will do so against Zack Wheeler. They were teammates on the 2024-25 National League All-Star squads.
Wheeler didn’t make his 2026 debut until April 25 because of his recovery from last summer’s thoracic outlet decompression surgery. Over 12 starts this season, Wheeler is 8-1 with an ERA of 2.03. The 36-year-old right-hander has won four of six starts in June. His WHIP is 0.86 for the year.
One of those starts was part of a 6-0 shutout win for Philadelphia against the Pirates on May 17 at PNC Park. He finished seven innings, blanking the Bucs on four hits with seven strikeouts and just one walk.
That day, Skenes was also pitching. He allowed five earned runs in five innings and took the loss to fall to 6-3 at the time.
Skenes only has one career start in Philadelphia. That came last year on May 18. He suffered a 1-0 loss against Mick Abel after permitting just one run on three hits with nine strikeouts and only one walk.
Enough is enough
There appears to be a resolution to the Brendan Sorsby saga.
After the NFL determined it would not hold a supplemental draft for Sorsby, the outcast quarterback from Texas Tech/Cincinnati/Indiana has decided to forgo any legal claims against the league regarding entry this season.
It appears the NFL Players Association is on board with the outcome as well.
Via a memo from the NFL posted at ESPN.com, the league has “confirmed with the NFLPA and Brendan Sorsby that there will be no further litigation regarding his entry into the NFL — and that instead, Mr. Sorsby will focus on his preparation for entry into the League via the 2027 NFL Draft. For purposes of League and CBA rules, Mr. Sorsby will be considered a ‘Draft-Eligible’ player for the 2027 NFL Draft. Mr. Sorsby will not be eligible to sign an NFL Player Contract until the completion of the 2027 NFL Draft.”
Sorsby was banished from college football this spring after he was busted for gambling on sports while he was an NCAA player. That included bets on his own team while at Indiana.
It also sounds like Sorsby will be eligible to participate at the Senior Bowl and won’t be disciplined “for currently known prior misconduct.” However, the NFL “retains the right to investigate his conduct beyond what is in the current public filings.”
An NFL source also told the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport that it reserves the right to take college misconduct into consideration in setting discipline for any future violations.
Sorsby published a statement of his own.
Here is a statement from Brendan Sorsby: pic.twitter.com/Y8Wr3DnCBc
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) June 30, 2026
At Cincinnati last year, Sorsby completed 61% of his passes for 2,800 yards and 27 touchdowns. He only threw five interceptions. Sorsby also ran for 580 yards and nine more scores.
Leaving for Las Vegas
A former Pittsburgh Penguin will now be behind an NHL bench.
Letestu will be an assistant coach for the Las Vegas Golden Knights. The team made that announcement Tuesday.
Most recently, Letestu was coaching the AHL’s Colorado Eagles to the Western Conference Final of the Calder Cup playoffs. He’s also been an assistant with the Columbus Blue Jackets’ AHL team in Cleveland.
The Alberta native broke into the NHL with the Penguins during the 2009-10 season. Then he was dealt to Columbus in Nov. 2011. The 41-year-old also played with Edmonton and Nashville.
In 567 regular-season NHL games, Letestu scored 93 goals and put up 117 assists for 210 points. In 36 Stanley Cup playoff games, he registered 15 points.