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Pittsburgh Pirates star prospect, starting pitcher Paul Skenes, made his MLB debut last weekend against the Chicago Cubs. It was an electric debut, as he struck out seven batters in four innings.
Chicago found some success against him, surrendering six hits, two walks and three earned runs. In his second career start on Friday afternoon, Paul Skenes was facing the Cubs again and he was even more dominant.
The No. 1 pick in the 2023 MLB Amateur Draft was truly dominant as the Cubs failed to even make contact against him. He pitched six innings and didn’t allow a single hit, as the only base runner allowed was one walk.
Paul Skenes struck out 11 Cubs, setting some impressive MLB history in the process. According to OptaSTATS on X, he is the first pitcher to strike out the first seven or more hitters of a game and finish with zero hits allowed.
Paul Skenes of the @Pirates is the first pitcher in MLB history to have a start where he struck out the first 7 (or more) batters and finished with 0 hits allowed.
— OptaSTATS (@OptaSTATS) May 17, 2024
He did it in his second career outing. pic.twitter.com/tZLIOEML8r
Accomplishing such a feat at any point in a career is impressive; doing it in your second career start is truly jaw-dropping. The hype surrounding Paul Skenes coming into the major leagues was very high, as he was regarded as one of the best pitching prospects ever.
“I had my pitches working for me a lot better than last time,” the 21-year-old said. “It’s really tough to compete without fastball execution, no matter who you are. It was a lot better today.
Somehow, the expectations may not have been set high enough. 12 pitches were cloaked at 100 MPH or faster, as he consistently throws as hard as any player in baseball effortlessly. With excellent secondary pitches, the Cubs aren’t the only team that is going to look lost at the plate against him.
He retired the first 13 hitters he faced on Friday afternoon, as his seven strikeouts to begin the game were a Pittsburgh Pirates record. That is the second most to start a game by a rookie in MLB history behind Jim Deshaies and Jacob deGrom.
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