Paul Skenes struck out nine batters in six strong innings, helping the Pittsburgh Pirates narrowly beat the Miami Marlins 3-2 on Monday night.
The 22-year-old Skenes (10-2) gave up just one run on six hits, bringing his ERA down to 2.10. He also set a Pirates rookie record with 151 strikeouts for the season and won his fourth game in a row.
The 6-foot-6 right-handed pitcher’s fastball reached 100 mph six times and he became only the fourth rookie to achieve 150 strikeouts in 20 starts or fewer, joining Kerry Wood, Dwight Gooden, and Mark Prior.
Pirates manager Derek Shelton praised Skenes, saying, “This kid’s got elite stuff and he’s going to strike out a lot of people throughout his career.”
Even though Skenes wasn’t extremely efficient—he needed 98 pitches to get 18 outs and only retired Miami in order once—he managed to avoid significant problems, helping his chances for National League Rookie of the Year.
Skenes’ impressive performance has been a highlight for the Pirates, who struggled in August and saw their postseason chances slip away.
Despite the team’s difficulties, Skenes has continued to excel. Although his fastball speed has decreased a bit since his impressive debut, he has been using a variety of pitches, including a “splinker” (a blend of a sinker and a splitter) to keep batters off balance.
He used several types of pitches to strike out Miami batters.
When he got Marlins rookie Griffin Conine out on a grounder to first base to end the sixth inning, the small mid-September crowd at PNC Park gave Skenes a standing ovation for one of his final home starts of the season.
Skenes said, “That’s pretty dang cool every time. So, yeah, just keep showing up for the games. And hopefully, I mean, the goal is to keep giving them moments like that.”
The Pirates are spacing out Skenes’ starts to ensure he stays healthy through his first full professional season. They will finish a nine-game homestand with three games against the Royals over the weekend, and Skenes might start the last game of the series.
Skenes acknowledges that there is “probably a limit” to how many innings he can pitch this year, as he’s already at 147 1/3 innings between Triple-A and the majors. However, he doesn’t believe he will hit that limit this season and feels he is built to handle the workload.
“I’m 22, I’m conditioned to throw a lot of innings I think,” he said.
Oneil Cruz hit his 19th home run of the season for the Pirates. Bryan Reynolds added a two-run double off Valente Bellozo (2-3), helping Pittsburgh win their second consecutive game.
Aroldis Chapman earned his seventh save by getting through the ninth inning despite allowing a Cristian Pache RBI-double.
For the Marlins, Xavier Edwards, Jesus Sanchez, and Otto Lopez each had two hits, but it wasn’t enough to support Bellozo.
Bellozo pitched well for 5 1/3 innings. His only significant mistake was in the first inning when Cruz hit a 90 mph fastball 444 feet into the bushes beyond center field, giving the Pirates an early lead.
Miami’s defense also contributed to Pittsburgh’s other two runs. The Pirates had no runners on base with two outs in the second inning when Marlins shortstop Xavier Edwards made a throwing error on a grounder by Alika Williams.
Miami first baseman Jonah Bride couldn’t handle the throw, and the inning continued. Nick Gonzales then hit a double, placing runners in scoring position.
Williams and Gonzales scored on a sharp single to right field by Reynolds, which gave Pittsburgh a three-run lead that was more than enough for their emerging star pitcher.
