Not only was it another great night for Pirates super rookie Paul Skenes, but he was so strong on Tuesday night that even fans in opposing stadiums had to praise him for his performance.
The LSU alum pitched 6 1/3 scoreless innings, striking out eight and allowing only five hits and no walks as Pittsburgh beat the rival Cardinals, 2-1.
But the iconic moment of the game came in the bottom of the seventh inning, when Derek Shelton removed Skenes after 103 pitches after a Nolan Arenado double.
The flame-thrower walked from the mound to the third-base dugout and received a standing ovation from Cardinals fans at Busch Stadium, a gesture that was quickly noticed by the Sportsnet Pittsburgh crew, with commentator Neil Walker calling the classy gesture “incredible.”
Skenes, the No. 1 pick in last year’s draft, has lived up to the hype since being promoted from Triple-A Indianapolis, posting a 2.43 ERA with 46 strikeouts in his first six major league games.
He threw 11 pitches at or above 99.5 mph on Tuesday and struck out 14 times, arguably his best overall production as a major leaguer.
His fastball velocity ranks in the 99th percentile, according to Baseball Savant.
This happened against Cardinals right-hander Miles Mikolas, who had a no-hitter going into the seventh inning.
“I had to do really well,” Skenes said after the game, according to the Associated Press. “Every time the batting order changed, I had to get batters out in different ways.”
Shelton also said the Pirates have seen their right-handed pitchers get better and better since the early days of their major league careers.
“He was very efficient,” Shelton told reporters. “Overall, he was very impressive. We’re excited to see Paul continue to grow.”
Thanks to Skenes’ excellent pitching since the start of the season, more fans will stand up and applaud, and more batters may sit on the bench.
