Last Saturday at PNC Park, Paul Skenes made his much anticipated Major League Baseball in front of a frenzied home crowd against the Chicago Cubs.
He pitched just 4.0 innings before manager Derek Shelton lifted him. He struck out 7 batters, but allowed a solo home run to Nico Hoerner, and the runners on first and second he had when he left the game were eventually charged to him when Kyle Nicolas couldn’t find the strike zone to save his life.
While Pirates fans were still buzzing with excitement over the sheer talent that Skenes displayed, the rest of the baseball world was a little underwhelmed.
His stat line didn’t tell the whole story, but you can’t expect everyone to look for the further context. Now, in his second career major league start, Skenes was given the chance for a “revenge game” if you will, facing these same Cubs once again, only this time at Wrigley Field.
The Pirates were looking to open this four game series in Chicago with back to back wins. Last night, a solid performance by fellow rookie phenom Jared Jones helped power the Bucs to a win in a game that also saw some bats start to wake up.
Now, it was Skenes’ turn. Could he display a bit more of that killer instinct that we saw him possess in college? Skenes himself certainly thought so.
“Go ahead and adjust,” he challenged the Cubs.
But the only person who adjusted was Skenes. In his debut, Skenes started with two consecutive strikeouts against the Cubs. This time around? Try seven in a row.
All three of his punch out pitches in the first inning were at 100 miles per hour.
In the second, he picked up right where he left off:
Skenes struck out the side in both the first and second innings, before adding a seventh straight one in the third.
Pete Crow-Artstrong finally broke the streak when instead of striking out, he grounded out to first baseman Rowdy Tellez, with the ultimate tag being applied by Skenes himself.
Patrick Kurish and Jason Mackey came in clutch with some stats and records to show just how dominant Skenes’ outing was today.
Per Codify as well, Skenes now has the most 100+ miles per hour pitches by a starting pitcher in Wrigley Field history, a feat he achieved in the first three innings.
On the day as a whole, Skenes pitched a hitless 6.0 innings against the Cubs. It was only fitting that for a guy who regularly hits 100 miles per hour to finish the day with exactly 100 pitches, including a 100 mile per hour pitch on the final pitch.
Skenes struck out 11 batters on the day, and 67 of his 100 pitches were strikes. The Pirates broadcast later said that Skenes’ 11 punch outs were the most by a Pirates pitcher at Wrigley Field.
Skenes did not allow a base runner until the fifth inning, when he walked a batter after the Pirates had charged out to an 8-0 lead.
His starting counterpart, Kyle Hendricks, did not fair nearly as well. A matchup that was framed in Chicago as “the professor vs the student” saw the student wipe the floor with the so-called professor.
Hendricks pitched just 4.2 innings, allowing 11 hits and 7 earned runs against (an eighth run was not charged to him because of a throwing error). His ERA on the season now sits at 10.57.
(Featured photo by Justin Berl/Getty Images)
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