PITTSBURGH (AP) — Paul Skenes grew used to the buzz that surrounds him a while ago.
Still, Saturday was different. Throughout an unseasonably warm spring afternoon, the mania that seems to follow the 22-year-old Pittsburgh Pirates ace whenever he takes the mound collided with the reality of the current state of his underperforming team.
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Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes delivers during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians in Pittsburgh, Saturday, April 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes delivers during the second inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Monday, April 14, 2025, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Matt Freed)
Fans watch a baseball game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Cleveland Guardians with Pirates' Paul Skenes pitching on Paul Skenes Bobblehead Day at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Saturday, April 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Fans line up outside PNC Park for a baseball game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Cleveland Guardians with Pirates' Paul Skenes pitching and having his bobblehead distributed in Pittsburgh, Saturday, April 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Cleveland Guardians fan Andy Lewis of Elyria, Ohio, holds his Pittsburgh Pirates' Paul Skenes bobblehead before a baseball game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Cleveland Guardians, with Pirates' Paul Skenes pitching, in Pittsburgh, Saturday, April 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
A day that began with fans queueing up outside the gates of PNC Park more than five hours before Skenes delivered his first pitch — all in the in hopes of securing one of the 20,000 bobbleheads inspired by the National League Rookie of the Year — ended with a 3-0 loss and the increasingly familiar chants urging owner Bob Nutting to sell the team.
The irony this time is that the club's executives avoided the kind of public-relations missteps that have become all too frequent over the season's opening month.
Due to what Pirates president Travis Williams called unprecedented demand, the team pledged to make sure that every one of the 37,113 who waited in lines that stretched for blocks in every direction — including across the Roberto Clemente Bridge into the city's downtown — would be able to obtain one of the popular collectibles.
It didn't take long for some of them to pop up on eBay, though for far less than a one-of-a-kind Skenes rookie card that fetched more than $1 million at a public auction last month.
Asked if he thought the bobblehead bore more than a passing resemblance to him, the bearded Skenes — who is about 6 feet taller than the figurine — shrugged.
“It’s a bobblehead,” he said. "It’s not my thing.”
He didn't notice the growing crush of people outside the ballpark when he arrived for work, though he called seeing a sellout for just the second time this season “cool.”
“Wish we would’ve gotten the win,” Skenes added inside a postgame clubhouse so quiet the most notable noise was coming from the air conditioning unit in the middle of the room.
Those moments have been far too infrequent during an opening month in which the Pirates' play has offered a reminder that for all of Skenes' brilliance, it takes more than a phenom pitcher to compete against some of baseball's best teams.
Skenes did his part, limiting the Guardians to two runs and six hits across seven efficient if not quite overpowering innings. Making the first start of his big league career on four days' rest, Skenes struck out a season-low four batters, which he chalked up to Cleveland's approach more than the quality of his stuff.
There was just one true mistake, a 93 mph splitter on the first pitch of the seventh that dipped down and in to Kyle Manzardo. The left-handed designated hitter turned on it and sent it bouncing into the Allegheny River to put the Guardians up 2-0.
“I’m not going to lose any sleep over this outing,” he said. “Just got to score runs.”
Something the Pirates have not done with any sort of consistency. Five days after putting up a season-high 10 runs to back Skenes in a win over Washington, Pittsburgh managed just six hits while being shut out for the third time in a week.
The Pirates went 0 for 8 with runners in scoring position, the most damning a two-batter sequence in the sixth in which first-and-third with no outs ended with Ke'Bryan Hayes taking a ball that looked outside for strike three, immediately followed by Tommy Pham grounding into a double play.
The unease that bubbled up during the home opener — when a plane flew overhead dragging a banner urging owner Bob Nutting to put the team up for sale — is starting to become a constant.
While there were boos after Pham's dribbler to second ended the scoring threat, a brief but noticeable “sell the team” chant curiously popped up after Skenes gave up the homer to Manzardo. It quickly died out, and Skenes was given a generous ovation when he walked off the mound after the top of the seventh following a performance that gave his team a chance to win.
Only the Pirates didn't. Just as they haven't in three of his five starts this season, or in 14 of their first 22 overall.
Skenes brushed aside the idea that frustration is starting to creep in, even with the Pirates dealing with the same issues — namely offense and spotty work from the bullpen — that plagued them during a late-summer swoon that dropped them out of contention in 2024.
Everyone from Nutting to Williams to general manager Ben Cherington to Shelton to Skenes has said it's time for Pittsburgh to win. Those wins aren't coming with any regularity.
The window to contend that the club expected to open in 2025 remains shut. And no amount of giveaways can distract the fanbase, even as their bright young hope continues to look every bit the budding superstar that he is.
Skenes brushed aside the idea that frustration is starting to mount internally, even as it ratchets up externally, even on days that begin with the giddy frenzy that seems to follow Skenes wherever he goes in full bloom.
“We’re just not executing at a high enough level and as consistently as we need to, to win these games,” he said. "I don’t think it’s a clubhouse thing. Everybody likes each other. But positive feelings, friendships and all that don’t win championships. We've got to figure it out.”
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Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes delivers during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Cleveland Guardians in Pittsburgh, Saturday, April 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes delivers during the second inning of a baseball game against the Washington Nationals, Monday, April 14, 2025, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Matt Freed)
Fans watch a baseball game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Cleveland Guardians with Pirates' Paul Skenes pitching on Paul Skenes Bobblehead Day at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Saturday, April 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Fans line up outside PNC Park for a baseball game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Cleveland Guardians with Pirates' Paul Skenes pitching and having his bobblehead distributed in Pittsburgh, Saturday, April 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Cleveland Guardians fan Andy Lewis of Elyria, Ohio, holds his Pittsburgh Pirates' Paul Skenes bobblehead before a baseball game between the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Cleveland Guardians, with Pirates' Paul Skenes pitching, in Pittsburgh, Saturday, April 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
President Donald Trump met with the new Syrian leader, a onetime insurgent, in a stunning engagement on Wednesday in Saudi Arabia. Trump was to wrap up his visit to the kingdom later in the morning and head to Qatar, the second leg of his three-nation Middle East tour this week.
Trump said the rapprochement with Syria came at the urging of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
“There is a new government that will hopefully succeed,” Trump said of Syria, adding, “I say good luck, Syria. Show us something special.”
On Tuesday, Trump received a lavish welcome in Riyadh, where he announced he would move to lift sanctions on Syria to give the country “a chance at peace.” He also focused on dealmaking with the kingdom, a key Mideast ally, and touched on shared concerns about Iran’s nuclear program and the war in Gaza.
Trump also urged Iran to take a “new and a better path” as he pushes for a new nuclear deal and said he wanted to avoid conflict with Tehran. Trump and Prince Mohammed, the kingdom's de facto ruler, signed a host of economic and bilateral agreements.
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The Israeli prime minister made the request during his visit to Washington last month, according to the official. The official says the request was made out of concern that a cross-border attack similar to Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, assault, could come from Syria.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the request with the media.
Israel fears that the new Syrian president and his Islamist past could pose a threat on its northern border.
Trump on Tuesday said he would ease sanctions on Syria and move to restore ties with its new leader. The move is just the latest disagreement between the U.S. and Israeli leaders who have differed on how to approach Iran and the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels, among other regional issues. Trump’s first term policies were overwhelmingly favorable to Israel.
— By Tia Goldenberg in Tel Aviv, Israel;
The meeting between Trump and Syria’s interim President Ahmad al-Sharaa was the first such encounter between the two nations’ leaders in 25 years.
It took place on the sidelines of Trump sitting with the leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council. Reporters were not allowed in to witness the stunning engagement.
It was a major turn of events for a Syria still adjusting to life after the over 50-year, iron-gripped rule of the Assad family.
People across Syria cheered in the streets and shot off fireworks Tuesday night to celebrate after Trump announced he would move to lift U.S. sanctions on Syria, hopeful their nation locked out of credit cards and global finance might rejoin the world’s economy when they need investment the most.
The strikes took place overnight on Tuesday and early Wednesday, the Indonesian Hospital in Jabaliya reported.
They came a day after Hamas released an Israeli-American hostage in a deal brokered by the United States, and as Trump was in Saudi Arabia.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Tuesday that there was “no way” Israel would halt its war in Gaza, dimming hopes for a ceasefire spurred by the Trump administration's efforts in the region.
Israel's military spokesperson Col. Avichay Adraee has urged people to evacuate the ports of Ras Isa, Hodeida and Salif, where he says the Iran-backed Houthi rebels operate.
The warnings came as Trump continues his visit to the region and after the U.S. reached a ceasefire deal with the Houthis. The Israeli military made a similar warning for people to evacuate the ports on Sunday but did not follow that up with strikes.
Last week, Israel carried out a two-day strike on the Houthis, including the airport in Yemen’s capital, after the Houthis launched a missile that struck the grounds of Israel’s main international airport.
Syrians cheered Trump's announcement that America will move to lift sanctions on the beleaguered Middle East nation. People in the capital, Damascus, whistled and cheered the news as fireworks lit the night sky.
The state-run SANA news agency published video and photographs of Syrians cheering in Umayyad Square. Others honked their car horns or waved the new Syrian flag in celebration.
Trump’s planned meeting with the country’s rebel-turned-leader Ahmad al-Sharaa represents a remarkable political turnaround for Syria, which has been locked in a bitter war since the 2011 Arab Spring. In December, rebels led by al-Sharaa toppled Syrian autocrat Bashar Assad’s government.
Al-Sharaa, who was imprisoned in Iraq for his role in the insurgency following the 2003 U.S.-led invasion, will be the first Syrian leader to meet an American president since Hafez Assad met Bill Clinton in Geneva in 2000.
▶Read more about sanctions on Syria
The U.S. once offered $10 million for information about the whereabouts of the insurgent then known by the nom de guerre Abu Mohammed al-Golani. He had joined the ranks of al-Qaida insurgents battling U.S. forces in Iraq after the U.S.-led invasion in 2003 and still faces a warrant for his arrest on terrorism charges in Iraq.
Syria’s new president came back to his home country after the conflict began in 2011, and led al-Qaida’s branch that used to be known as the Nusra Front.
He later changed the name of his group and cut links with al-Qaida before they finally succeeded in overthrowing President Bashar Assad in December.
Syria’s Foreign Ministry on Tuesday night called Trump's statement about the sanctions a pivotal turning point for the Syrian people as they "seek to emerge from a long and painful chapter of war.”
The statement also was careful to describe the sanctions as coming “in response to the war crimes committed by the Assad regime against the Syrian people,” rather than the war-torn nation’s new interim government.
“The removal of these sanctions offers a vital opportunity for Syria to pursue stability, self-sufficiency and meaningful national reconstruction, led by and for the Syrian people,” the statement added.
The Israeli military issued a statement on Wednesday morning announcing the missile fire from Yemen after sirens sounded in the country.
“A missile launched from Yemen was intercepted,” the Israeli military said. “Sirens were sounded in accordance with protocol.”
The Houthis had launched another missile just after Trump addressed an investment summit in Riyadh on Tuesday. Trump had earlier announced a ceasefire between America and the rebel group.
The Houthis have been attacking Israel over the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip and Israel’s decision to bar aid to the beleaguered Palestinian enclave. The Iranian-backed rebels also are locked in a stalemated war with a Saudi-led coalition backing the country’s long-exiled government.
The Houthis did not immediately claim the attack, though it can take hours or even days for them to acknowledge an assault.
The foreign ministry bolstered its travel cautions for New Zealanders visiting the United States, the first such update since Trump took office, officials said Wednesday. The travel advice hadn’t been fully updated since 2023, the statement said.
Language added to the guidance for U.S.-bound travelers included an alert that visitors “may encounter scrutiny from U.S. border authorities,” including inspection of their travel documents, reason for travel and personal belongings.
It also warned travelers to “expect strict enforcement” of entry conditions and caution of “detention, deportation and ban from re-entry” if travelers don’t comply.
Syrians wave Saudi and Syrian flags in celebration after U.S. President Donald Trump announced plans during his visit to Saudi Arabia to ease sanctions on Syria and normalize relations with its new government, in Homs, Syria, late Tuesday, May 13, 2025.(AP Photo/Omar Albam)
Syrians celebrate after U.S. President Donald Trump announced plans during his visit to Saudi Arabia to ease sanctions on Syria and normalize relations with its new government, in Homs, Syria, late Tuesday, May 13, 2025.(AP Photo/Omar Albam)
Syrians wave Saudi and Syrian flags in celebration after U.S. President Donald Trump announced plans during his visit to Saudi Arabia to ease sanctions on Syria and normalize relations with its new government, in Homs, Syria, late Tuesday, May 13, 2025.(AP Photo/Omar Albam)
Syrians celebrate after U.S. President Donald Trump announced plans to ease sanctions on Syria and move toward normalizing relations with its new government to give the country 'a chance at peace,' in Idlib, Syria, Tuesday, May 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)
President Donald Trump waves as he leaves the Royal Palace after a signing ceremony with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Tuesday, May 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
President Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman walk for a signing ceremony at the Royal Palace in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Tuesday, May 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
President Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman pose for a photo at the Saudi-U.S. Investment Forum at the King Abdulaziz International Conference Center in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Tuesday, May 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
President Donald Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman gesture as they meet delegations at the Royal Palace in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Tuesday, May 13, 2025. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)
