CINCINNATI — Well, Opening Day debacle aside, Paul Skenes is still pretty good.

After the reigning National League Cy Young winner failed to make it out of the first inning in his Opening Day start against the New York Mets, the Pittsburgh Pirates ace did what he’s done for his entire career — dominate the Cincinnati Reds.

In his sixth career start against Cincinnati, Skenes allowed just his second-ever run to the Reds, giving up a run on three hits in five innings with five strikeouts in Pittsburgh’s 8-3 victory over the Reds at Great American Ball Park on Wednesday.

With rain approaching, 77 pitches on his ledger and a long top half of the inning, Skenes did not come out for the bottom of the sixth inning. He went five innings, allowed one run on three hits with five strikeouts and two walks. Skenes’ ERA plummeted from 67.50 to 9.53 with the start, and he evened his record to 1-1.

“He’s such a competitor,” Pirates manager Don Kelly said. “He has that unique ability. I mean, even the lead-off walk, he dials it right back in and gets back in the zone. It’s really impressive.”

Skenes probably couldn’t have handpicked a better team to pitch against after the worst outing of his career. He allowed a run in the first inning of his first-ever appearance against the Reds on June 17, 2024, and hadn’t given up one to them until designated hitter Nathaniel Lowe’s fourth-inning double on Wednesday, snapping a 31-inning scoreless streak against Cincinnati.

Two batters before Lowe’s RBI double, Reds shortstop Elly De La Cruz led off the fourth with the Reds’ first hit of the day off Skenes.

In his previous five starts, Skenes had 40 strikeouts and two walks over 29 innings. Reds leadoff man TJ Friedl walked twice on Wednesday, doubling Skenes’ career walk total against Cincinnati. The Pirates had targeted 80 pitches for Skenes, so his relatively brief appearance was no surprise.

“We need Paul for the long haul, and he did a great job getting through five,” Kelly said. “As we go, he’s going to be throwing more than five (innings) and 77 (pitches).”

Meanwhile, the Reds’ Opening Day starter, lefty Andrew Abbott, gave up his first runs of the year on a three-run home run by Oneil Cruz in the first. Cruz hit a pair of homers in the Pirates’ victory on Tuesday. The center fielder had just one home run against left-handed pitchers last season, and Wednesday’s blast off Abbott was his second off a lefty in as many days. Cruz tagged Reds left-handed starter Brandon Williamson for the first of his two home runs on Tuesday.

Abbott gave up four hits in the first inning and threw 28 pitches, but retired the Pirates in order over the next four innings. Abbott got two quick outs in the second before Cruz hit a check-swing single to right and then Abbott walked Nick Yorke. He was charged with a fourth run when reliever Connor Phillips walked the first two batters he faced, forcing in a run.

Eugenio Suárez, pinch-hitting for Lowe in the sixth, hit a two-run homer off of lefty reliever Mason Montgomery to pull the Reds within a run.

The Pirates added four runs in the top of the ninth off of Reds closer Emilio Pagán.

In the bottom of the inning, the Cincinnati’s Tyler Stephenson watched a called strike three for what looked like the last out of the Reds’ loss. But he initiated an automated ball-strike challenge and won. Stephenson then fouled off one and then swung through one, ending the game.

— This story will be updated.