Paul Skenes dazzles on mound for 2nd time in 3 games, showing he's still among MLB's elite
PHOENIX (AP) — Paul Skenes struck out the side in the eighth inning, throwing a nasty splitter past Gabriel Moreno on his 97th and final pitch of the evening before smacking his glove in approval as he walked back to the dugout. Watch out big-league hitters — the defending National League Cy Young winner is starting to heat up. The 23-year-old right-hander threw eight innings of two-hit ball on Wednesday night, leading the Pirates to a 1-0 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks in a stellar performance that was among the best of his career.
“It’s not easy, but it's simple," Skenes said. “It you execute your pitches, it's going to go the way you want it to. ” It was the second time in the past three outings that Skenes has been at his best.
He took a perfect game into the seventh inning of a 6-0 win over the Milwaukee Brewers on April 24. Skenes pounded the strike zone on Wednesday with his five-pitch mix, coaxing the aggressive Diamondbacks hitters into quick outs. He retired the first 14 batters of the night before Lourdes Gurriel Jr.
reached base on a soft dribbler down the third-base line that was ruled a single. Skenes tried to make the play, but couldn't get off the mound fast enough. His throw to first base sailed well wide of the bag.
“I got a good grip — just threw it away,” Skenes said, flashing a small grin. “Didn’t throw it to the right place. Got to throw it to the right place next time.