Andre Pallante outperformed rookie Paul Skenes, striking out a career-high nine batters over seven innings, leading the St. Louis Cardinals to a 4-0 victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates on Monday night.
“I’m very focused on me versus the hitters,” Pallante said. “I’m just trying to pitch the best I can regardless of who I’m going against. He’s a really good pitcher. You kind of know it’s going to be a tight game, but I’m glad we pulled ahead.”
Pallante (7-8) gave up four hits and one walk. Andrew Kittredge and Ryan Fernandez each pitched a perfect inning, completing a four-hitter and the ninth shutout for the Cardinals this season.
“He just pounded the zone,” Cardinals manager Oliver Marmol said of Pallante. “He got ahead of everybody, and the slider was a big pitch for him. He landed that a ton.”
Skenes (10-3) allowed one run and four hits in six innings with seven strikeouts and one walk, dropping to 0-2 in three starts against St. Louis.
“I had to do some things I haven’t done, necessarily,” Skenes said. “At this point of the season, they’ve seen everything, so it turns into playing the game of baseball. We had a good plan and executed it pretty well.”
Skenes’ 2.07 ERA is the second-lowest through a pitcher’s first 21 starts since ERA became an official statistic in both leagues in 1913, trailing only Steve Rogers’ 1.95 for Montreal in 1973 and 74.
“I think it speaks to how good he is,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “He’s faced teams in the division multiple times, and they’ve gotten a look at him. He’s made adjustments off it, using the fastball tonight, using the changeup.”
Skenes threw his 94th pitch of 100 mph or more, retiring Paul Goldschmidt on a grounder that ended a nine-pitch at-bat in the fourth inning. No other starting pitcher has thrown more than 40 pitches of at least 100 mph this season.
