Fastball

Pirates' Paul Skenes Continues Historic Start to Career with Another Gem

The Pittsburgh Pirates moved closer to .500 on Monday night with a win against the Cincinnati Reds. In that win, Paul Skenes dominated for 6.0 innings, making even more history in his young career.

Brady Farkas

Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Paul Skenes (30) delivers a pitch against the Cincinnati Reds during the first inning at PNC Park on June 17.
Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Paul Skenes (30) delivers a pitch against the Cincinnati Reds during the first inning at PNC Park on June 17. / Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
In this story:

The Pittsburgh Pirates defeated the Cincinnati Reds on Monday night at PNC Park. The 4-1 win moved the Pirates to 35-37 on the season while the loss dropped the Reds to 34-38.

In the win, Pirates' young flamethrower Paul Skenes dominated once again. The No. 1 overall draft pick in the 2023 draft is now 4-0 with a 2.29 ERA. He went 6.0 innings, allowed just one run on six hits and struck out seven.

He also made a little history, according to Sarah Langs of MLB.com:

50+ strikeouts and fewer than 10 walks in 1st 7 career app (since at least 1901):

2024 Paul Skenes (7 BB)
2024 Jared Jones (5 BB)
2014 Masahiro Tanaka (7 BB)

18 pitchers have had 50+ K in their first 7 career games in span, and 2 of the 3 with the lowest walk totals are TEAMMATES WHO BOTH DID IT THIS YEAR

Skenes is certainly living up to the hype, as he came into this season as the most hyped pitching prospect of the last 15 years. Furthermore, he and Jones have given Pirates fans a reason to be excited and they should pair to make a great top of the rotation for years to come.

The two teams will play again on Tuesday night with the first pitch coming at 6:40 p.m. ET. Nick Lodolo will pitch for the Reds while Bailey Falter will go for the Pirates. Lodolo, a former top prospect himself, is 7-2 this season with a 2.93 ERA. Falter is 3-4 with a 3.86.

Follow Fastball on FanNation on social media

Continue to follow our Fastball on FanNation coverage on social media by liking us on Facebook and by following us on Twitter @FastballFN.

Published
Brady Farkas

BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

Home/History