Watch: Skenes reaches incredible MLB milestone in 13th start

Paul Skenes. Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

Watch: Paul Skenes reaches incredible MLB milestone in 13th start

By Eric Smithling | Last updated Jul 30, 2024 9:03 AM ET

Pirates rookie pitcher Paul Skenes reached an incredible milestone on Monday.

A second-inning strikeout of Astros first baseman Jon Singleton gave Skenes his 100th K of the season in 13 starts.

Per Pirates social media, Skenes became the sixth player since 1893 to record 100 strikeouts in 13 games or fewer.

No. 100

Paul Skenes is just the sixth player all-time (since the current mound distance was established in 1893) to reach 100 strikeouts in 13 or fewer games. pic.twitter.com/VDgQGRIZvZ
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) July 30, 2024

Skenes had four strikeouts and allowed no earned runs in his first four innings against Houston, dropping his ERA for the season to 1.83.

Skenes made his MLB debut on May 11 and was 6-1 with a 1.93 ERA in his first 12 starts.

Earlier this month, he became the fifth rookie, and first since Hideo Nomo in 1995, to start the All-Star Game. Skenes pitched one scoreless inning.

Skenes has been racking up strikeouts since he debuted. He became the first player in MLB history to record at least 70 strikeouts and allow 12 or fewer runs through his first nine starts, per Codify.

Every pitcher in history to strike out 70 batters in the first 9 games of their MLB career while not allowing more than a dozen runs:

1. Paul Skenes

That's it. That's the list. pic.twitter.com/3DFNAo6kl0
— Codify (@CodifyBaseball) June 30, 2024

Baseball analyst Sarah Langs noted after his last start against the Cardinals on July 23 that Skenes was the first pitcher since at least 1901 to strike out at least seven batters in 11 of his first 12 outings.

Paul Skenes is the first pitcher with 7+ strikeouts in at least 11 of his 1st 12 career app (since at least 1901)

nobody else did so in more than 9 of first 12
— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) July 24, 2024

Skenes, the No. 1 overall pick of the 2023 MLB Draft, is off to an incredibly rare and excellent beginning to his MLB career.

With each start, he's rewriting the record books and reaching new heights.

Eric Smithling

Eric Smithling is a writer based in New Orleans, LA, whose byline also appears on Athlon Sports. He has been with Yardbarker since September 2022, primarily covering the NFL and college football, but also the NBA, WNBA, men’s and women’s college basketball, NHL, tennis and golf. He holds a film studies degree from the University of New Orleans

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