Paul Skenes experienced two major firsts on Tuesday night in a 2-1 loss to the Cardinals.
The Pirates’ right-hander pitched into the ninth inning for the first time and also recorded his first official loss. Before this game, he had a perfect 6-0 record and never pitched more than seven innings in any of his initial 11 starts.
Skenes, at just 22 years old, is already making waves in Major League Baseball. He boasts a stellar 1.90 ERA and an impressive strikeout-to-walk ratio of 6.85. Recently, he made history by becoming the first player to start an All-Star Game in the same summer he was drafted.
On Tuesday, Skenes threw for 8⅓ innings, allowing two runs with four hits (one being a Nolan Arenado home run) and no walks while striking out eight batters over 104 pitches . This was his longest outing yet but not his highest pitch count; that record remains from his July 5 start against the Mets where he threw 107 pitches.
Game Highlights:
The Cardinals took a lead in the fifth inning thanks to Arenado’s homer. The Pirates managed to tie it up in the eighth inning but fell behind again when Alec Burleson hit a timely single in the ninth.
Fans might think it’s surprising that pitcher wins and losses are still noted given how flawed they are as metrics—often depending more on run support than actual pitching performance. Despite this being Skenes’ first official loss, it’s noteworthy since it breaks his two-month streak without one.
Earlier on Tuesday, there was speculation about how Skenes’ rise could influence the Pirates’ trade deadline strategies with MLB’s trade deadline approaching on July 30th.
What do you think about Skenes’ performance so far?
