Skenes is now joined by Nolan Ryan in record books with 7 no-hit innings. 11 K’s

MILWAUKEE – Paul Skenes has never thrown the no-hitter.

By Alex Stumpf

Jul 12, 2024 12:40 AM

MILWAUKEE — Paul Skenes has never thrown a no-hitter. Not in college. Not in high school. Attribute a lot of that to him being a catcher rather than a pitcher primarily while growing up.

Skenes got pretty close Thursday night at American Family Field, spinning seven no-hit innings and registering an all-time high of 11 strikeouts while the Pirates beat the road series in the series against Brewers by securing the Brewers winning 1-0.

 

It wasn’t until the sixth seventh inning that Skenes began to realize that he could have a shot to make history, partly since it had been a tie until Yasmani Grandal hit a double to home Jack Suwinski in the top of the seventh to score the sole run during the contest.

“It’s really easy [not to think about the no-hitter] when it’s a 1-0 ballgame, I think, because one swing can tie it up,” Skenes said. Skenes. “It isn’t a big deal until the end of the game. It’s about getting outs.”

If he’d stopped for a moment to consider it, he might have realized he was creating some historical records. It was his eighth consecutive start in which he had at seven strikeouts. It was the longest streak of an Pirates pitcher. It was his second time making a start with more than 11 strikes in six or more innings of no-hit which joined Nolan Ryan as the only National League and American players to achieve this during this same time frame. Ryan made it happen in 1973. It must be noted that he threw a no-hitter both performances.

Oh, and it brought down Skenes’ ERA to 1.90 with 89 strikeouts in 11 games, the fifth-highest number of K’s in 11 games in MLB history, since 1901. There’s a reason this young man can be an all-star already.

However, once Pirates Manager Derek Shelton had a conversation with Skenes in the seventh inning, in the tunnel connecting the dugout with the clubhouse, the place where Skenes is always during innings — the pitcher began receiving hug from his teammates in addition, Colin Holderman began getting loose in the bullpen. His day was over with 99 pitch.

“Yeah, definitely wanted to finish it,” Skenes stated. “But throwing every five days, six days, whatever it is now, definitely understand that side of it.”

“It didn’t really have anything to do with the pitch count,” Shelton explained. Shelton. “Everyone is concerned about pitch count. The issue was where the player was. It was about putting your trust in your eyes and trusting in him. When I tried to talk with him afterwards the event, he was exhausted. They did a great job of dragging him down and he offered us everything he owned.”

Shelton clarified Skenes his pitching style and how his body was reacting were signs that he appeared tired. This was something the Bucs noticed during the 6th inning, before they allowed him to continue for another frame. The seventh inning was just six pitches, due to two strong defensive plays made by 2B Nick Gonzales up the middle and the third baseman, but it was enough to make it a day as they hadn’t witnessed Skenes look tired in the past.

It was due in large part to the Brewers taking their time with Skenes in for the first three innings, forcing him to throw an average of 63 pitches. Although he hit seven out in the time frame, it appeared like his pitch count might be shorter than normal. However, a common theme that appears in a lot of Skenes beginnings is that he changes his game to be more efficient. The Brewers were able to help by speeding up outs.

“Hitting against this guy with two strikes is death, you know?” said Brewers manager Pat Murphy. “There’s an edged sword here. It’s not as simple to say “Well, we’ll increase to the number of pitches. There’s an art to this. He saw it and adjusted the pitch. … The credit goes for him.”

Typically it’s Skenes who lays out the way the game will begin, and then relies more on Grandal to make the mid-game adjustments.

“Today, it worked out pretty well,” Grandal stated. “Hopefully, he just keeps on going.”

Skenes was able to complete seven no-hit innings, eleven strikeouts, and only one walk, and a hit batter.

It’s increasingly likely that there could be more stories in the near future for Skenes. Skenes is likely to be the first pitcher in The NL side, but only four rookie pitchers have appeared in this year’s All-Star Game, per the Elias Sports Bureau: Hideo Nomo (1995), Fernando Valenzuela (’81), Mark Fidrych (’76) and Dave Stenhouse (’62). However, Skenes could be more noteworthy: His 11 starts would tie Mark Fidrych for the tiniest starts in his career prior to an All-Star appearance (Fidrych also had two appearances as a relief pitcher).

Skenes admits that he hasn’t given any thought into the possibility of launching his participation in the Midsummer Classic, but it could be a viable option.

“It would be a really unique and cool opportunity for the Pirates, for our organization,” Shelton stated. “If that’s what they end up deciding, I think we’ll be very honored.”