Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Paul Skenes (30) delivers a pitch to St. Louis Cardinals first baseman Willson Contreras (40) during the first inning at PNC Park. Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

Pirates' Paul Skenes, Tigers' Tarik Skubal Set For Historic Matchup in All-Star Game

Originally posted on Fastball on SI | By Sam Connon | Last updated Jul 15, 2025 12:48 PM ET

With all of baseball's biggest stars suiting up in Atlanta this week, it is only fitting that Paul Skenes and Tarik Skubal are set take the bump first.

The Pittsburgh Pirates righty and Detroit Tigers lefty will serve as starting pitchers for the National League and American League, respectively, at the 2025 MLB All-Star Game on Tuesday night. Skubal is the reigning AL Cy Young, while Skenes has continued to dominate after winning NL Rookie of the Year and placing third in NL Cy Young voting.

Skenes and Skubal didn't get the nods just based off of last year's production, though. Skenes has a 2.01 ERA, 0.926 WHIP, 131 strikeouts and a 4.7 WAR in spite of his 4-8 record. Skubal is 10-3 with a 2.26 ERA, 0.826 WHIP, 153 strikeouts and a 4.3 WAR.

According to OptaSTATS, Skenes and Skubal are the first pair of MLB All-Star Game starting pitchers to enter the Midsummer Classic with 130-plus strikeouts, ERAs under 2.25 and WHIPs under 1.000.

Paul Skenes & Tarik Skubal are the first pair of MLB All-Star Game starters to each enter with 130+ strikeouts, a sub-2.25 ERA & sub-1.00 WHIP. pic.twitter.com/xZeK1RKyba
— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) July 14, 2025

Skubal was the easy selection for AL manager Aaron Boone, since Garrett Crochet, Jacob deGrom and Max Fried all opted to sit out the All-Star Game. Zack Wheeler did the same on the NL side, opening the door for Skenes to step in relatively unchallenged.

First pitch from Truist Park is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET. Since the Atlanta Braves are hosting, Skenes will take the mound first.

This article first appeared on Fastball on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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