Pittsburgh Pirates' Paul Skenes Does Something Never Done Before in Loss on Tuesday
![Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Paul Skenes (30) pitches against the St. Louis Cardinals during the eighth inning at PNC Park on July 23. Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Paul Skenes (30) pitches against the St. Louis Cardinals during the eighth inning at PNC Park on July 23.](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_crop,w_3648,h_2052,x_0,y_3266/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/images/ImagnImages/mmsport/fastball/01j3jaxkfc3h57vtf65v.jpg)
The Pittsburgh Pirates lost to the St. Louis Cardinals 2-1 on Tuesday night at PNC Park as rookie right-hander Paul Skenes picked up the first loss of his career.
But just because Skenes lost doesn't mean that he wasn't still dominant. He was. The former No. 1 pick in the draft and first time All-Star went 8.1 innings, pitching into the ninth inning for the first time in his career. He allowed two earned runs on four hits, walking none and striking out eight. He's now 6-1 on the year and owns a 1.93 ERA.
It was a tough loss for the Pirates, who are now 51-50 on the year. They are 1.5 games back in the National League wild card loss.
As for Skenes, he's been one of the biggest stories in all of baseball this season. Taking the league by storm, he started the All-Star Game for the National League and has the inside track at the National League Rookie of the Year Award as well.
He's also helped reinvigorate the Pirates fans who haven't seen a playoff berth in almost a decade. He and Jared Jones look like the foundation of a pitching staff that could be excellent for the next half-decade or more.
Furthermore, his outing made Modern Era baseball history, according to @OptaSTATS:
Tonight Paul Skenes:
- got 25+ outs
- allowed fewer than 5 hits
- walked nobody
- struck out 8+
No other MLB rookie in the modern era has done all of that and yet suffered the loss.
Tonight Paul Skenes:
— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) July 24, 2024
- got 25+ outs
- allowed fewer than 5 hits
- walked nobody
- struck out 8+
No other MLB rookie in the modern era has done all of that and yet suffered the loss. pic.twitter.com/RkuTjLjoqd
The Pirates and Cardinals will play each other again on Wednesday afternoon with the first pitch coming at 12:35 p.m. ET. As of this posting, the Cardinals haven't named a starter but the Pirates will go with veteran lefty Martin Perez. He's 1-5 with a 5.61 ERA.
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