The long-awaited debut of [autotag]Paul Skenes[/autotag] has finally arrived for the Pittsburgh Pirates. Skenes was called up to start against the Chicago Cubs in front of a sold-out crowd at PNC Park on Saturday.
His start to the game was as on-brand as it could possibly be. He struck out the first two hitters he faced before Cody Bellinger drew a walk to get on base. You could tell that the adrenaline was racing for Skenes up on the mound as he was a little wild at times but that is to be expected for someone pitching their first game in the Majors.
Skenes made one big error in his first start. He hung a curveball to Nico Hoerner who deposited it into the stands for a homer. Skenes was pulled from the game in the top of the fifth inning after the first two hitters of the inning reached.
Kyle Nicholas was brought in to get the Pirates out of the inning but after striking out two hitters he walked three straight to tack on two more runs to Skenes’ total. The final line for Skenes was 4.0 innings pitched, six hits, and three runs on seven strikeouts and two walks.
Despite all of that, the Pirates still had a 6-4 lead. Skenes was not eligible for a possible win as he did not complete five innings. His first start was not perfect, but he showed flashes of excellence.
Everyone Loves Skenes Daypic.twitter.com/hIJ0gwXnBc
— LSU Baseball (@LSUbaseball) May 11, 2024
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