Fastball

Pittsburgh Pirates Pitcher Paul Skenes Fills Up History Books Yet Again on Monday Night

The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Houston Astros on Monday night as rookie pitcher Paul Skenes once again contributed a gem on the mound.

Brady Farkas

Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Paul Skenes (30) reacts after a play during the third inning against the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park on July 29.
Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Paul Skenes (30) reacts after a play during the third inning against the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park on July 29. / Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports
In this story:

The Pittsburgh Pirates rallied for four runs in the eighth and ninth innings on Monday night to stun the Houston Astros 5-3 at MinuteMaid Park.

The win moves the Pirates to 54-52 and keeps them on the fringes of the National League playoff picture, while the loss dropped the Astros to 55-51. They remain in a tie with the Mariners in the American League West race.

In the win, Pirates rookie Paul Skenes took a no decision after going 6.0 innings on the mound. He allowed two runs on five hits, walked three and struck out six. He's got an ERA of 1.90 for the year after making his debut in early May.

As he does every time he takes the mound, Skenes made more and more baseball history in the performance.

Per Sarah Langs of MLB.com:

Paul Skenes’ 18 runs allowed are the fewest of the 14 pitchers with at least 90 strikeouts in their 1st 13 career app (since at least 1901)

and he has 103 K’s

And this one:

most strikeouts in 1st 13 career app (since at least 1901):

1995 Hideo Nomo: 119
1998 Kerry Wood: 118
1955 Herb Score: 107
1983 Jose DeLeon: 106
2024 Paul Skenes: 103
2014 Masahiro Tanaka: 103

Skenes was the most-hyped pitcher in baseball since Stephen Strasburg more than a decade ago when he was taken with the No. 1 overall pick by the Pirates, and he's done his part to live up to the hype.

Those 103 strikeouts have come in just 80.2 innings pitched. He's 6-1 on the year.

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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. 

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