PITTSBURGH, June 15 -- Paul Skenes threw the best swing-and-miss game of his life on Sunday, and he lost it. The reigning National League Cy Young winner pulled 23 swings through empty air at PNC Park, more than in any start he has ever made, and the Pirates still trudged off on the wrong end of a 4-2 afternoon against the Miami Marlins.

The damage was in the contact he did allow. Two Marlins reached the seats in the second inning, Heriberto Hernandez first and then Joe Mack, both solo shots off a pitcher who spends most nights making hitters look foolish. In a game this tight, that was the whole of it. Skenes missed 23 bats and made two mistakes, and the two mistakes are the only part the scoreboard kept.

Twenty-three swinging strikes ...