Pittsburgh Pirates rookie pitcher Paul Skenes kept the Milwaukee Brewers hitless through seven innings on Thursday. However, left-hander Colin Holderman took over in the eighth inning and gave up a single to the first batter, Jake Bauers.
Skenes, a 22-year-old All-Star making his 11th start, threw 99 pitches. He struck out 11 batters and walked one.
Skenes (5-0) faced a challenge in the second inning when he hit one batter and walked another, putting two runners on base with two outs. He managed to strike out Andruw Monasterio after an eight-pitch battle.
No other Brewers managed to reach base against Skenes. The Pirates held a narrow 1-0 lead when Skenes left the game.
In the third inning, William Contreras hit a foul ball into the second deck that narrowly missed the left field foul pole. Contreras pushed Skenes to 10 pitches before striking out.
In the seventh inning, second baseman Nick Gonzales chased down a 236-foot popup from Willy Adames, almost colliding with center fielder Jack Suwinski in the process. Skenes threw only six pitches in the seventh inning.
Skenes didn’t reach 100 mph until his 23rd pitch, striking out Adames looking in the second inning. He entered the game with 78 strikeouts in 59⅓ innings, including 74 pitches of 100 mph or more.
