On a partly cloudy afternoon in Pittsburgh, the stellar Paul Skenes put the usual shine from the center of the diamond with another airtight start. The right-hander dominated Colorado at will and reaffirmed himself among the best pitchers in history during his first campaigns in the most demanding baseball in the world.
While his girlfriend Olivia Dunne was sharing images enjoying the US Open tennis tournament in New York, Skenes climbed the mound at PNC Park and set the tone with seven scoreless innings, no walks and only three hits to his name. The right-hander did not allow any opponents to reach third base and only two managed to get into scoring position.
As usual, the Pirates ace mixed up his repertoire to throw Colorado’s hitters off balance, who mostly suffered against his fastball, sweeper, changeup and sinker. In total, he made 101 pitches and his top speed was 99.1 mph, with an average of 92.5.
This time Skenes was able to get the win, although he remains in the red (8-9) on the season. His teammates supported him with a four-run rally in the fourth inning. Crucial was Jared Triolo’s home run with two runners on base to open the scoring. The closing was handled by relievers Isaac Mattson and Dennys Santana, who finished off the last two innings without difficulty.
Record in sight
With this game, Paul Skenes reached 50 starts in his young Major League career, and he did so at a record pace. With his seven immaculate innings, the right-hander lowered his lifetime ERA to 2.02, the second lowest in the Live Ball Era in a pitcher’s first 50 starts.
Skenes is only slightly behind Vida Blue, who achieved a 2.01 average in his first 50 starts between 1969 and 1972. The difference is that the Pirates ace has put up these numbers in just two campaigns.
Among all Major League pitchers who have made their first 50 starts exclusively as starters, Skenes is by far the best in terms of ERA, ahead of Dwight Gooden (2.27), Jose Fernandez (2.47), Noodles Hahn (2.51) and Matt Harvey (2.61), who complete the Top 5.
His performance has not waned in his second season, something that often happens to many players in MLB. On the contrary, after 27 starts, the right-hander leads the National League in ERA (2.07) and WHIP (0.94), while he is second in strikeouts (181) and opponent average (.195).
Skenes is one of the leading contenders for the Cy Young Award in the Old Circuit. If he maintains his losing record (caused mainly by his team’s poor offensive support), he could become only the second pitcher in history to win the award with more losses than wins, something only reliever Eric Gagne has achieved in 2003.
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