Skenes Dominates Dodgers in Battle of Aces

Paul Skenes Dominates Dodgers in Highly Anticipated Pitching Duel

The much-hyped pitching showdown between the Pirates’ Paul Skenes and the Dodgers’ Yoshinobu Yamamoto delivered mixed results Friday night. While Yamamoto struggled with his control, Skenes was absolutely brilliant in Pittsburgh’s 3-0 win over the defending World Series champions.

Skenes was nearly untouchable, throwing 6⅓ shutout innings while striking out 9 batters without issuing a single walk.

The 22-year-old phenom threw 108 pitches with 69 finding the strike zone. His four-seam fastball was electric, averaging 98 mph and topping out at a blistering 99.7 mph. But what made Skenes truly special was his ability to mix six different pitches to keep the powerful Dodgers lineup off balance all night.

Here’s what makes his performance even more impressive: Skenes generated more swinging strikes (18), called strikes (19), and foul balls (17) than balls put in play (15). That’s complete dominance against one of baseball’s best offenses.

While his fastball got most of the attention, it might have been an 89 mph changeup to Tommy Edman that stole the show. The pitch ended the sixth inning and had Skenes unleashing a primal scream as he walked off the mound.

And yes, he struck out Shohei Ohtani too.

This performance was especially sweet for Skenes considering the Dodgers had his number last season. They roughed him up for a 5.73 ERA in two starts last year — by far his worst showing against any team during his rookie campaign.

With Friday’s gem, Skenes lowered his ERA to 2.39 on the season. In 37⅔ innings, he’s racked up 39 strikeouts against just four walks while allowing only one home run. His FIP (a measure of pitching performance that removes defense from the equation) sits at an incredible 1.69.

The loss drops the Dodgers to 16-10, marking their second three-game losing streak of the season. They remain in third place in a competitive NL West.

Pittsburgh improved to 11-16 but still sits at the bottom of the NL Central.

As for Yamamoto, two of the three runs he allowed were unearned, keeping his season ERA at a sparkling 1.06. Despite Friday’s hiccup, the NL ERA leader remains one of baseball’s most effective pitchers.

It’s still early in the season, but if both pitchers stay healthy, don’t be surprised if Skenes and Yamamoto find themselves battling for the NL Cy Young Award come September.