On Tuesday, Paul Skenes, the Pittsburgh Pirates’ standout pitcher, once again showcased why he is considered one of the premier pitchers in the world. His performance against the Colorado Rockies was not only brilliant but also reflective of a consistent pattern of excellence that has become his trademark.
In the Pirates’ 3-1 victory over the Rockies, Skenes, last year’s National League Cy Young Award winner, delivered another masterful performance. For the second consecutive start, he pitched eight innings, demonstrating both stamina and skill.
Out of his 98 pitches, an impressive 68 were strikes. His command was evident as he accumulated numerous strikeouts, alongside seven ground-outs and only two fly-outs. Skenes managed to induce 19 swings and misses, with 11 coming from his fastball. Impressively, he recorded at least one called strike across all five pitch types he employed during the game. He carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning, only for Mickey Moniak to break it with a soft single, narrowly missing a historic achievement.
Earlier in the game, Skenes struck out the first six batters he faced, a streak halted only by Willi Castro’s attempted bunt single in the third inning. He maintained his dominance, retiring 14 consecutive batters before hitting Troy Johnston with an errant changeup. As the ninth inning approached, the crowd at PNC Park erupted into chants of “We want Paul! We want Paul!” However, Skenes did not have the chance to complete the game himself.
This stellar outing has further lowered Skenes’ season ERA to 1.98, closely mirroring his career ERA of 1.97. With 64 starts under his belt, maintaining a sub-2.00 ERA, Skenes is crafting one of the most remarkable beginnings to a major league career in history. At just 23 years old, he appears poised to continue this extraordinary trajectory for many years to come.
The spotless outing lowered Skenes’ ERA for the season to 1.98, which is right in line with his career mark of 1.97. Yes, after the first 64 starts of his MLB career, Skenes has a sub-2.00 ERA. It’s no exaggeration to call the beginning of Skenes’ career one of the best ever among big-league hurlers. Still just 23, Skenes figures to keep it going for a long time.
Instead of the future, though, let’s use his Tuesday effort to talk about the recent past. Consider Skenes’ last five starts, including Tuesday’s: 32 IP, 0.84 ERA, 38 strikeouts, 0 walks. Skenes has not allowed a run in 16 straight innings, but the more impressive streak is this stretch without a walk.
Yes, Skenes hasn’t allowed a walk in a month. That covers a span of 123 straight batters faced and counting. That also covers a span of 35 consecutive innings without a walk. The last batter to work a walk off Skenes? It was James Wood of the Washington Nationals, who leads the NL in walks, back on April 13. For those curious, the MLB record for most consecutive innings without a walk belongs to Bill Fischer of the Kansas City A’s, who in 1962 went 84 1/3 straight innings without issuing a free pass. The NL record belongs to Hall of Famer Greg Maddux. As a member of the Atlanta Braves in 2001, he didn’t walk a batter for 72 1/3 consecutive innings. Skenes is almost halfway to that NL mark.
For Skenes, though, the focus is on keeping runs off the board and helping his Pirates remain in contention in the hotly competitive senior circuit. Tuesday’s win pushed them to 23-19 on the season. That’s good for merely fourth place in the NL Central, but they’re just one game out of the third and final wild card spot.
