Pirates rookie righty Paul Skenes had a probability at history ripped from his hands to guard his arm on Thursday, and he looked lower than thrilled about it.
Skenes was seen within the dugout being told by Pirates manager Derek Shelton that he wouldn’t be going out for the eighth inning, and while he did well to take care of his composure, it’s hard to fault the stud pitcher for being upset.
“Definitely wanted to complete it,” Skenes said postgame after being pulled from an incredibly dominant seven-inning, 11-strikeout no-hitter after throwing 99 pitches. “Throwing every six days, five days, whatever it’s now, I definitely understand that side of it.”
Shortly after being pulled from the sport, Skenes would watch the Pirates’ shaky bullpen blow the no-hitter within the eighth inning, although they still got here away with the 1-0 win against the Brewers as Aroldis Chapman shut the door within the ninth.
Skenes, 22, added that he didn’t start fascinated with the no-hitter until the sixth inning, saying he “labored” through the primary few innings before settling in.
The Pirates stud right-hander claims to have never thrown a no-hitter.
“Not even in Little League,” he said.
Pittsburgh played the damaging game of handing, not only a no-hitter, but a one-run ball game to their struggling bullpen.
The Pirates have the fourth-most blown saves in baseball (17) due to down years from Chapman and regular closer David Bednar.
Still, Shelton claimed that Skenes’ removal had nothing to do with an innings limit or pitch count.
“He was drained,” Shelton explained. “It really didn’t have anything to do with the pitch count. Everybody makes it about pitch counts; it was about where he was at. It was about trusting your eyes, trusting him.”
The hope for the Pirates is that Skenes is accessible throughout the MLB playoff sprint after the All-Star Break.
The 45-48 squad boasts a wonderful rotation when healthy, also featuring Jared Jones and Mitch Keller, and are 2 1/2 games out of the ultimate wild-card spot.
