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Paul Skenes Opened 2025 Season With a Strikeout on a Devastating Pitch

Ryan Phillips

Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes strikes out Miami Marlins leadoff hitter Xavier Edwards.
Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes strikes out Miami Marlins leadoff hitter Xavier Edwards. / Via Pittsburgh Pirates on
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Paul Skenes picked up right where he left off.

On Opening Day, the Pittsburgh Pirates ace opened his first start of the 2025 season looking as dominant as he did in 2024.

In the bottom of the first inning, Skenes faced Miami Marlins leadoff hitter Xavier Edwards and an eight-pitch battle ensued. After falling behind 0-2, Edwards fouled off three pitches, then took two balls to even the count at 2-2. That's when Skenes broke out an utterly devastating changeup to put Edwards away.

That's a 90-mph changeup with a ton of movement. It finished off an at-bat in which Skenes offered up multiple fastballs hitting 99 mph. Through the first two innings of the game, Skenes has four strikeouts.

The 22-year-old is poised to compete for the National League Cy Young award this season after earning an All-Star game start in 2024 and winning NL Rookie of the Year. Last season, Skenes went 11-3 with a 1.96 ERA, a 0.95 WHIP and 170 strikeouts against 32 walks in 133 innings.

There's no reason to believe he won't be similarly dominant this season.

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Ryan Phillips
RYAN PHILLIPS

Ryan Phillips is a senior writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated. He has worked in digital media since 2009, spending eight years at The Big Lead before joining SI in 2024. Phillips also co-hosts The Assembly Call Podcast about Indiana Hoosiers basketball and previously worked at Bleacher Report. He is a proud San Diego native and a graduate of Indiana University’s journalism program.

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