Fastball

Pittsburgh Pirates Pitcher Paul Skenes Extends Historic Start to Career

Paul Skenes gave up another leadoff home run on Saturday, but that didn't stop the Pittsburgh Pirates rookie from mowing down Atlanta Braves batters at a historic rate.

Sam Connon

Jun 29, 2024; Cumberland, Georgia, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes (30) pitches the ball against Atlanta Braves during the fifth inning at Truist Park.
Jun 29, 2024; Cumberland, Georgia, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes (30) pitches the ball against Atlanta Braves during the fifth inning at Truist Park. / Jordan Godfree-USA TODAY Sports
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The Pittsburgh Pirates may not have emerged victorious on Saturday, but that certainly wasn't Paul Skenes' fault.

Skenes went 6.0 innings deep, allowing six hits, two walks and one earned run with nine strikeouts against the Atlanta Braves. That lone run came across on a leadoff homer by Jarred Kelenic, and then Skenes pitched a scoreless game from that point forward.

The 22-year-old righty did the same thing the last time he took the mound, allowing a leadoff homer against the Tampa Bay Rays on June 23 before locking down and not giving up another run. Per OptaSTATS, Skenes is the first pitcher in MLB history to do so in back-to-back starts.

Still, the Pirates lost both contests, and Skenes was stuck with a no decision both times. Atlanta walked things off in the 10th inning on Saturday, winning 2-1.

Skenes is now nine starts into his MLB career. He has racked up 70 strikeouts since reaching the big leagues, which MLB.com's Sarah Langs noted is the ninth-most all-time by a pitcher through nine career appearances.

According to Langs, only two players have ever had 70-plus strikeouts and 10 or fewer walks in their first nine career starts since at least 1901. Masahiro Tanaka is the only other pitcher to achieve the feat, doing so with the New York Yankees back in 2014, but even he had seven years in Nippon Professional Baseball to prepare for MLB competition.

Skenes, on the other hand, was in the College World Series with LSU at this time last year.

Skenes is 4-0 with a 2.06 ERA, 1.032 WHIP and 2.1 WAR so far this season. Despite not joining the Pirates' major league roster until the middle of May, Skenes is still considered to be one of the top contenders to win NL Rookie of the Year.

The No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft was the No. 1 pitching prospect in baseball entering 2024, and he has certainly showed why over the past few weeks.

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Sam Connon

SAM CONNON

Sam Connon is a Staff Writer for Fastball on the Sports Illustrated/FanNation networks. He previously covered UCLA Athletics for Sports Illustrated/FanNation's All Bruins, 247Sports' Bruin Report Online, Rivals' Bruin Blitz, the Bleav Podcast Network and the Daily Bruin, with his work as a sports columnist receiving awards from the College Media Association and Society of Professional Journalists. Connon also wrote for Sports Illustrated/FanNation's New England Patriots site, Patriots Country, and he was on the Patriots and Boston Red Sox beats at Prime Time Sports Talk.

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