In Pittsburgh, Paul Skenes seemed comfortable during his big moment.
The best pitching prospect in baseball, Paul Skenes, had a good first game for the Pittsburgh Pirates, pitching into the fifth inning in a 10-9 win over the Chicago Cubs on Saturday, showing a hint of what's to come.
Skenes allowed three runs in just over four innings. He struck out seven, with 17 pitches over 100 mph. He also walked two and gave up a home run to Nico Hoerner in the fourth inning.
As he left the field, the 21-year-old with a mustache got a loud round of applause from the almost full crowd, which included his famous girlfriend, Livvy Dunne, who is a gymnast at LSU and an influencer on social media.
Skenes is the first Pirates pitcher 21 or younger to get at least seven strikeouts in his first major league game since Nick Maddox did it in 1907, 95 years before Skenes was born.
The Pirates hinted at Skenes' promotion on Wednesday after he did well in seven games at Triple-A Indianapolis. His debut made PNC Park feel like a playoff game, at least as much as it can in mid-May for a team that hasn't made the playoffs since 2015.
Fans lined up deep by the Pirates' bullpen to see Skenes warm up. The team store did a lot of business, with some people spending $200 on jerseys with Skenes' number on them.
Skenes has had a fast rise from being a not very well-known cadet at Air Force Academy to being the MVP at the College World Series at LSU, then becoming the first overall pick in the 2023 draft and possibly a key player for the team. And yet, he seemed very comfortable.
Skenes, with black socks pulled up high, confidently walked onto the field, starting what he has said is like the end of one part of his life and the start of another.
A big part of the crowd, including Dunne, stood up while Skenes warmed up, with “Cue Country Roads” by Charles Wesley Godwin playing.
Then Chicago designated hitter Mike Tauchman got up to bat, and the excitement turned into the game. Skenes moved his 6-foot-6 body and, with his unusual way of throwing, pitched a 101 mph fastball to Tauchman, which the umpire called a ball.
Six pitches later, Tauchman was walking back to the dugout after swinging at another fastball — this time it was 100.9 mph — that he tipped into catcher Yasmani Grandal’s mitt for Skenes’ first strikeout.
His second strikeout came three pitches later.
Cubs right fielder Seiya Suzuki took a pair of called strikes — the second was an 87 mph slider that left Suzuki shaking his head — before swinging at another slider.
Chicago center fielder Cody Bellinger got a walk, but only after taking a ball that was clocked at 101.9 mph, the fastest by a Pirates pitcher since Major League Baseball started tracking pitch speed in 2008.
Skenes got Christopher Morel to fly out to deep center to end the inning after a walk, a hit batter, and a single loaded the bases. Yan Gomes struck out looking at a fastball, and Tauchman grounded out to second.
Skenes continued to throw triple-digit fastballs while working on improving his offspeed pitches. Hoerner hit a home run on a hanging first-pitch slider.
Pittsburgh manager Derek Shelton, who has emphasized the need to manage Skenes' workload, took the rookie out after his pitch count reached 84 when the Cubs hit a pair of singles to start the fifth inning. The runners later scored when reliever Kyle Nicolas walked in a pair of runs.
Pirates general manager Ben Cherington stated before the first pitch that Skenes has proven himself in the minors and does not need to do more, despite the significant attention he has received at every stage of his career.
Cherington mentioned that there should be no limits on Skenes and expressed confidence in his ability to reach the next level as an elite performer.
CUBS MAKE HISTORY
The Cubs made history by drawing six bases-loaded walks in the fifth inning, which is the most by a major league team in a single inning in 65 years.
The last team to draw as many walks with the bases loaded in one inning was the Chicago White Sox, who had eight in the seventh inning on April 22, 1959, according to Major League Baseball.
After Skenes was replaced, Nicolas struck out two batters and hit Ian Happ with a pitch. Then the situation deteriorated.
Nicolas threw 12 consecutive pitches outside the strike zone to Nico Hoerner, Michael Busch, and Miles Mastrobuoni, resulting in three runs being scored.
Then Josh Fleming came in and walked Yan Gomes on five pitches before giving up an infield single to Mike Tauchman.
Fleming was substituted for Colin Holderman, who walked Seiya Suzuki on four pitches and Cody Bellinger on five, giving Chicago an 8-6 lead. Holderman retired pinch-hitter Nick Madrigal on a liner to end the inning.
The Pirates threw 55 pitches in the inning, with only 20 being strikes. They regained the lead with three runs in the bottom half and held on to win 10-9.
