PITTSBURGH (AP) — Paul Skenes’ stuff was as electric as advertised.
A fastball that reached 100 mph at least 17 times. A slider that made major league players shake their heads. An invention called the “splinker” is a hybrid of a splitter and a sinker and features a dip and dive unlike any other pitch anywhere in baseball.
Yet even at age 21, the Pittsburgh Pirates newbie knows all the “oohs” and “aahs” and bends a ball with a knee that sometimes explodes out of his right hand, no matter how hard he controls it. does not make.
So there were some positive takeaways from his major league debut on Saturday — seven strikeouts over four innings and much later. 10-9 win over Chicago Cubs – The Top overall pick in last year’s draft Understands that there is still more work to do.
He needed 84 pitches to strike out 12, issued a few walks, hit one batter and was charged with three runs. For a player whose workload will be closely monitored, this is not as efficient as he would like.
Yes, there were moments of brilliance in front of a crowd of 34,924 his famous girlfriendLSU gymnast and social media influencer Livy Dunn.
There were moments when the Cubs reminded that for all his talent, Skenes is still a rookie who has been a full-time pitcher for less than two years. And succeeding at baseball’s highest level will take more than testing the limits of a radar gun.
Pirates manager Derek Shelton attributed Skenes’ inconsistency to the type of nervous energy that every player feels when they reach the majors. Skenes, who posted a 0.99 ERA in seven starts for Triple-A Indianapolis before being called up this week, declined to provide specifics.
“You can incorporate it into a lot of things,” Skenes said. “But it’s not as fast as it used to be.”
Skenes still became the first Pirates pitcher age 21 or younger to record at least seven strikeouts in his major league debut since Nick Maddox had 11 against the St. Louis Cardinals in 1907. 95 years before birth.
Maddox played only four seasons. Expectations are certainly high for Skenes.
Pirates His call-up was teased on Wednesday And their highly anticipated arrival gave PNC Park a playoff-like atmosphere, or at least enough to make it feel like October in mid-May for a team that hasn’t reached the postseason since 2015.
Fans lined up two and three deep behind the Pirates’ bullpen beyond the center field fence to watch and catch Skane’s pregame routine. Nearby, the team store under the left field bleachers did very good business, with some people spending $200 for jerseys stitched on the backs of Skeen’s No. 30.
It’s been an amazing rise for Skanes from a somewhat unknown Air Force Academy cadet College World Series MVP For a record at LSU $9.2 million signing bonus For a potential franchise cornerstone. And yet he looked quite at ease.
Schein, with black socks pulled up over his white pants, walked confidently out of the dugout and walked to the third-base line to begin what he has compared to the end of one part of his life and the beginning of another.
A large portion of the crowd stood while Skenes played “Q Country Roads” by Charles Wesley Godwin over the speakers.
Then Chicago’s designated hitter Mike Tauchman stepped into the batter’s box and the hype gave way to reality. Skenes opened up his 6-foot-6 frame and fired a 101 mph fastball to Trautman with his explosive delivery, which plate umpire Paul Clemons called a ball.
Six pitches later, Trautman was heading back to the dugout after swinging at another fastball – this time at 100.9 mph – when he threw the ball into the mitt of catcher Yasmani Grandal for Skenes’ first strikeout.
His second came after three pitches.
Cubs right fielder Seiya Suzuki took a pair of called strikes – the second an 87 mph slider that made Suzuki shake his head – before slugging another slider.
Chicago center fielder Cody Bellinger attempted a walk, but only after taking a ball whose speed was recorded at 101.9 mph, the highest by any Marine since Major League Baseball began tracking pitch speeds in 2008. The Outlaw is the fastest pitcher.
Skenes led off the inning by lining out Christopher Morrell to deep center. A walk, a hit batter and a single in the second loaded the bases with one out. No matter. Yan Gomes struck out on a fastball and Tauchman grounded out to second.
The next two innings were much of the same, with Skenes — retreating into the tunnel behind the dugout when the Pirates were hitting — mixing triple-digit fastballs with offspeed stuff that remains a work in progress. Hoerner went deep on a hanging first-pitch slider.
Tauchman led off the fifth with a double and Suzuki followed with an infield single. Shelton then headed to the mound to eject Skeen, while many fans rose to their feet.
Skenes spent the next several hours – including a 2-hour, 20-minute rain delay – trying to decompress. He remained in the dugout with some of his teammates, some of whom began their big league careers when he was in grade school.
On Sunday, he’ll wake up and try to get into season rhythm and begin preparing for his next start, likely a rematch with the Cubs at Wrigley Field next weekend. The discussion will reduce considerably. And hopefully there will be less panic.
“It will definitely be nice to get into a routine,” he said. “I’m big on routine, so the last week has been tough. But the main thing is you have to go out there and pitch.”
,
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
