Paul Skenes came close enough to make history Friday night, which is a reminder to everyone that it may only be a matter of time.
The Pittsburgh Pirates ace carried a perfect game into the seventh inning against the Milwaukee Brewers, retiring the first 20 batters he faced before Jake Bauers broke it up with a two-out single. The bid ended there; nevertheless, the performance didn’t lose its impact in a 6-0 Pirates win.
For Skenes, flirting with perfection is starting to feel like part of a pattern instead of a career highlight. Now in his third MLB season, the 23-year-old right-hander is improving. After a rough Opening Day outing against the New York Mets, Skenes has responded with a 0.95 ERA over his last five starts, reinforcing his status as one of the most dominant arms in the game.
The broader numbers are even more telling
Through his first 61 career starts, Skenes owns a 2.01 ERA, the lowest by any pitcher through 60 starts in the Live Ball Era (since 1920). That’s historic. Friday’s outing added another near-milestone to his résumé. His 6 2/3 innings of perfect baseball marked one of the longest perfect-game bids in franchise history, trailing only efforts by Ken Brett and Jeff Karstens in the expansion era.
Manager Don Kelly didn’t hesitate to put the performance into context. “He’s continuing to get better,” Kelly said, noting how remarkable that is given what Skenes has already accomplished. That growth showed up clearly against Milwaukee.
Even opposing manager Pat Murphy acknowledged the level of dominance. “That was the best I’ve seen from anyone,” Murphy said. It’s becoming a familiar feeling for the Pirates. When Skenes takes the mound, teammates play with added confidence, knowing they have a pitcher capable of controlling the game from the first inning.
How far can Skenes go?
The only question late in the game was how far Skenes would go. Had the perfect game remained intact, Kelly would have faced a difficult decision about extending his ace beyond the 110-pitch mark. Instead, the single in the seventh removed that dilemma while doing little to diminish the outing.
Skenes, for his part, kept the focus on the bigger picture. “I wasn’t thinking about it a ton,” he said of the perfect game bid. “It’s really just executing and putting up more zeros and doing everything to win the game.” The Pirates, now off to a strong start this season, are building around a rotation anchored by Paul.
With heightened expectations and a competitive division race, his consistency could be the difference between contention and another rebuilding year. As for the perfect game, Friday felt like a preview rather than a missed opportunity.
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