WBC hangover? Not for Paul Skenes as injury bug hits Cy Young peer Tarik Skubal
Paul Skenes and Eduardo Rodriguez are locked in after starring in the WBC.
PHOENIX — Pittsburgh Pirates Cy Young winner Paul Skenes kept talking, but without the slightest hesitation, leaned over, rapping his knuckle against the adjoining locker, knocking on wood. It’s an uncomfortable subject, one that terrifies every pitcher, but it’s a cold, cruel reality in the baseball world. Pitchers get hurt.
They require surgeries. Seasons are ruined. Careers are shortened.
“I’ve never really had to deal with stuff like that," Skenes tells USA TODAY Sports. “It’s not something I like to think about. " Yet, on the morning of Skenes’ last start Wednesday against the Arizona Diamondbacks before yielding just two baserunners in eight shutout innings, he was in his hotel room sending a text message to Detroit Tigers two-time Cy Young winner Tarik Skubal .
Skubal, his Team USA teammate in the World Baseball Classic, underwent elbow surgery in Los Angeles on Wednesday to clean out bone chips, which is expected to sideline him about two months. “I mean, it’s unfortunate," Skenes tells USA TODAY Sports. “I don’t know, I’ve never really had to deal with stuff like that.