After a promising but up-and-down first start of his MLB career, Paul Skenes spent his second outing erasing absolutely any questions about his readiness to contribute at the big league level. After striking out the first seven batters he faced, and retiring the first 13, Skenes just kept rolling as he finished six innings of work without allowing a hit or a run.
100th pitch 100 MPH strikeout
— MLB (@MLB) May 17, 2024
Make it SIX no-hit innings for Paul Skenes! pic.twitter.com/gNtaKC3xNJ
The budding ace walked just one batter, and struck out 11, including the last batter he faced. Skenes sat down Mike Tauchman with a 100 mph fastball with his 100th pitch of the day, putting an exclamation point on an unforgettable outing.
The lone baserunner came by way of a walk, which could very well have been another strikeout had the home plate umpire made a different call on a very competitive 2-2 pitch. Were Skenes still perfect through six innings, the Pirates would have been in even more of a predicament given his elevated pitch count.
In his first start, Skenes struggled to put away batters, giving up several hits and walks after getting ahead with two-strike counts. That trend was certainly gone in this matchup, although he could still stand to sit them down a bit quicker in an effort to reduce his pitch count and lengthen his outings.
Still, this start was phenomenal television, and a great sign as one of the best pitching prospects in recent memory continues his development. By all accounts, Skenes appears to be on the way to stardom, continuing a remarkable arc that only truly began in earnest just over a year ago after his transfer to LSU.
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