Paul Skenes had another shot at history on Thursday, but again wasn’t given the chance to finish the job.
In just his 11th big league start, the rookie phenom was pulled after seven no-hit innings against the Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday.
Skenes struck out 11, walked one, and hit a batter in his 99 pitches.
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Pittsburgh Pirates starter Paul Skenes pitches against the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field. (Benny Sieu-USA Today Sports)
It was the second time he took a no-hitter deep into a game, as he had a no-hitter through six innings in just his second big league start, but had 100 pitches in that outing.
His Pittsburgh Pirates were leading, 1-0, when he was taken out.
Each of Skenes’ last two outings saw a new career-high in pitches: 102 on June 29, and then 107 his last time out.
Skenes needed just six pitches to sit back down in the seventh inning, but considering his strikeout prowess, it’s rather likely he would’ve needed well over 120 pitches to finish the job.
Pittsburgh Pirates’ Paul Skenes pitches in the first inning against the Milwaukee Brewers at American Family Field. (Benny Sieu-USA Today Sports)
The Pirates selected him No. 1 overall last year, and after dominating the minors, they called him up in May – now, he’s already in the conversation for the best pitcher in the game.
Earlier this month, Skenes became the first pitcher to ever be selected to an All-Star Game the year after being drafted.
With his performance on Thursday, he brought his ERA down to 1.90 – however, he has not yet thrown enough innings to be qualified for the ERA title (one inning pitched per team game), and he likely won’t. Skenes has 59.1 innings this year, and would need to finish with 162.0 on the year to be qualified.
However, it should be noted that voters for the Cy Young Award can still vote for him if they feel he is worthy.
Earlier this month, Skenes became the first pitcher to ever be selected to an All-Star Game the year after being drafted. (Benny Sieu-USA Today Sports)
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He’s struck out 11.8 batters per nine innings, which is the second-best mark in baseball among those who have pitched at least 50 innings. His ERA is also the second-best mark given the requirement, behind only Reynaldo Lopez’s 1.71.
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