Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Paul Skenes made his 11th big-league start on Thursday afternoon against the Milwaukee Brewers. It proved to be a notable one, as Skenes held the Brewers hitless through seven innings — striking out 11 batters and walking just one along the way — before being removed for pitch-count purposes. The Pirates then turned to reliever Colin Holderman, who surrendered a hit to the first batter he faced.
Predictably, manager Derek Shelton’s decision to remove Skenes after throwing 99 pitches has inspired its fair share of second-guessing. Such is life for the modern skipper, who must weigh short-term achievements with long-term consequences. Did Shelton choose wisely on Thursday? There’s no right answer. Skenes, however, seemed OK with the call.
“I wasn’t going to be surprised either way, if he sent me out or pulled me,” Skenes said during an appearance on MLB Network. “We have Holderman and (Aroldis) Chapman at the back end of our bullpen, so I think those are probably, I think, two of the best guys in the league so I have a ton of trust in them to finish it. Obviously in a 1-0 game you want to stay in there, you want to finish it, but the volume’s getting up there a little bit so I get it.”
Skenes, to his credit, has remained diplomatic dating back to last summer whenever he’s been asked about the Pirates’ conservative handling of his workload. Shelton has allowed him to throw 100 or more pitches in just four of his 11 starts.
The 22-year-old All-Star came into Thursday’s start having amassed a 2.12 ERA (193 ERA+) and a 6.50 strikeout-to-walk ratio in his first 10 MLB starts. His outing on Thursday lowered his seasonal ERA to 1.90.
Additionally, Skenes joined Nolan Ryan by becoming the second pitcher in AL/NL history to record multiple starts of six or more innings and no hits with at least 11 strikeouts. Keep in mind, Skenes only made his MLB debut in mid-May.
The Pirates would hold on to their 1-0 lead for the win. Pittsburgh is now 45-48 on the year, and is very much in the thick of the National League wild-card hunt.
