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 came darn close Thursday at American Family Field, spinning seven no-hit innings while matching a career-high 11 strikeouts as the Pirates took the road series against the Brewers with a 1-0 win.
It wasn’t until the sixth or seventh inning when Skenes finally started to notice that he had a chance at history, partially because it was a tie game until Yasmani Grandal doubled home Jack Suwinski in the top of the seventh for the only run of the game.
“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,” said Skenes. “It doesn’t really matter until after the game. It’s just about getting outs.”
If he had stopped to think about it, Skenes might have found out that he was making some history. This was his eighth straight start with at least seven strikeouts, the longest streak by a Pirates pitcher. It was his second start of at least 11 strikeouts over six or more no-hit innings, joining Nolan Ryan as the only American/National League players to do that in the same season. Ryan did it in 1973 and, it should be noted, he completed the no-hitter in both of those efforts.
And, oh yeah, it lowered Skenes’ ERA to 1.90 with 89 strikeouts through 11 starts, the fifth-most K’s through 11 starts in MLB history since 1901. There’s a reason why this 22-year-old kid is an All-Star already.
But once Pirates manager Derek Shelton had a conversation with Skenes after the seventh inning in the tunnel from the dugout to the clubhouse — where Skenes always goes between innings — he started getting hugs from his teammates, and Colin Holderman began getting loose in the bullpen. His day was done after 99 pitches.
“Yeah, definitely wanted to finish it,” Skenes said. “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,” explained Shelton. “Everyone makes it about pitch count. It was about where he was at. It was about trusting your eyes, trusting him. When I went to talk to him after that, he was tired. They did a good job of wearing him down, and he gave us everything he had.”
Shelton clarified Skenes’ stuff and the way his body was reacting were the indicators that he was looking tired, something the Bucs saw in the sixth inning before they let him go another frame. That seventh was only six pitches long, thanks to two solid defensive plays by second baseman Nick Gonzales up the middle, but that was enough to call it a day, especially since they hadn’t seen him look fatigued yet this season.
It stemmed largely from the Brewers working Skenes hard the first three innings, making him throw 63 pitches. While he struck out seven in that span, it looked like his afternoon might be shorter than usual. But a recurring theme in so many Skenes starts is he makes adjustments to be more efficient, and the Brewers obliged by making quicker outs.
“Hitting against this guy with two strikes is death, you know?” said Brewers manager Pat Murphy. “There’s a two-edged sword there. It’s not as easy as just saying, ‘Well, we’ll run up the pitch count.’ There’s an art to doing it. He recognized it, he made the adjustment. … All credit to him.”
Usually, it’s Skenes who maps out how the game should start and then he leans more on Grandal for those mid-game adjustments.
“Today, it worked out pretty well,” Grandal said. “Hopefully, he just keeps on going.”
Skenes finished with seven no-hit innings, 11 strikeouts and just one walk and one hit batter.
It’s becoming increasingly likely there might be more history on the horizon for Skenes. He is a strong candidate to get the start for the NL side, and just four rookie pitchers have started the All-Star Game, per the Elias Sports Bureau: Hideo Nomo (1995), Fernando Valenzuela (’81), Mark Fidrych (’76) and Dave Stenhouse (’62). But Skenes would be even more unique, as his 11 starts would tie Fidrych for the fewest in a career entering an All-Star start (Fidrych also made two relief appearances).
Skenes says he hasn’t put a lot of thought into potentially starting the Midsummer Classic, but it seems like a legitimate possibility.
“It would be a really unique and cool opportunity for the Pirates, for our organization,” Shelton said. “If that’s what they end up deciding, I think we’ll be very honored.”
