Could Pittsburgh Pirates phenom Paul Skenes start for the National League in next week’s MLB All-Star Game? The rookie made a very convincing case to get the nod in Thursday’s 10 win over the Milwaukee Brewers.
Skenes allowed no hits over seven innings and tied a career-high with 11 strikeouts. He threw 99 pitches for the day.
Paul Skenes, 11th K.I guess today’s the day he shows off his backdoor slider.Dude just gets bored & dominates with a different pitch every game. pic.twitter.com/X7hnYiiIrN
Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) July 11, 2024
The left-hander retired the last 16 batters he faced on Thursday. The only inning in which he had a hint of trouble was in the second, when he hit Jake Bauers with a pitch and walked Garrett Mitchell. But Skenes struck out Andruw Monasterio to end the inning.
Milwaukee came close to putting a hit on the board in the seventh when Willy Adames hit a fly ball to center field. Both second baseman Nick Gonzales and center fielder Jack Suwinski closed in on the ball, looking they might collide on the play. But Suwinski ducked out of the way and Gonzales made the catch.
Colin Holderman took over for Skenes in the eighth and gave up a hit to Bauers to lead off the inning. Prior to that, Yasmani Grandal drove Suwinski in with a one-out double to give Pittsburgh its only run of the game and get Skenes the win.
As could be expected, many Pirates fans were upset that Skenes was pulled while he had a no-hitter going but manager Derek Shelton has been consistent with keeping the rookie around 100 pitches.
Absolute joke to not let Skenes pitch the 8th inning.Baseball sucks.
Andrew Fillipponi (@ThePoniExpress) July 11, 2024
Sports really suck now. Paul Skenes has a no hitter and they pull him because of a pitch count. What are we doing?
Raheem Palmer (@iamrahstradamus) July 11, 2024
The decision to pull Paul Skenes during after 7th innings of a no hitter at 99 pitches is so asinine. I cant stand the way baseball is moving with the protection of pitching. These guys throw 100+ pitches in high school, in college, etc. and get to the MLB and get babied.
Zach Harig (@zach_harig) July 11, 2024
It’s the second time in his 11 starts that Skenes has thrown at least six hitless frames and the third start in which he hasn’t allowed a run. He previously allowed no hits in the second start of his MLB career on May 17 against the Chicago Cubs.
That put Skenes in exclusive company with Hall of Famer Nolan Ryan, becoming only the second pitcher with multiple outings of six or more innings with no hits and 11 strikeouts or more. Ryan did that in 1973, his seventh major league season.
Thursday’s start was Skenes’ eighth consecutive appearance in which he struck out at least seven batters, the longest streak for a pitcher in Pirates history.
Skenes was named to the NL All-Star team this past Sunday, one of two Pirates to earn a spot on the roster, along with outfielder Bryan Reynolds. The question going into next Tuesday’s midsummer classic is whether he should be the NL’s starting pitcher.
“From a standpoint of excitement, yeah and stuff and raw talent, probably yes,” Hall of Fame pitcher John Smoltz told Fox Sports. “I don’t think it’s out of the realm of possibility that he could start, based on the timing of what other pitchers are able to do or not able to do.”
Though he’s made only 11 starts since being called up to the majors, the rookie has arguably been the best pitcher in MLB. More importantly, Skenes has been a marquee attraction, the sort of must-see sensation that rallies fans to watch every time he pitches.
For the season, Skenes now has a 1.91 ERA in 11 starts with a 60 record and 89 strikeouts in 66 innings.