Paul Skenes Jabbed Cubs, Then Toyed With Them In No-Hitter With 11 Ks For 1st MLB Win

Conventional wisdom in Major League Baseball is that once a pitcher starts going through the batting order a third time by about the fifth or sixth inning or so, the hitters have a familiarity advantage because they adjust.

And if the same team goes against the same pitcher just six days later, more offensive advantage. They can also study very recent film. Particularly against a rookie pitcher, right?

Pittsburgh Pirates rookie right-hander Paul Skenes - the first pick of the 2023 MLB Draft out of LSU - was posed that question before the second MLB start of his career and second straight against the Cubs in less than a week on Friday afternoon at Wrigley Field in Chicago.

Pittsburgh rookie pitcher Paul Skenes struck out the first seven hitters he faced in beating the Cubs at Wrigley Field in Chicago on Friday afternoon. (Getty Images)

"I mean, go ahead and adjust," Skenes told SportsNet Pittsburgh. "Good luck. I'm ready for it."

That, he was. Skenes obviously had more of a familiarity advantage and adjusted himself.

Skenes no-hit Chicago for six innings before leaving after striking out the 11th Cub on his 100th pitch, which happened to be at 100 miles per hour. Since it was just the second start of his MLB career, and Pirates' management has been limiting his pitches by gradually letting him throw more and more pitches, he was taken out after six innings with a no-hitter.

Skenes missed a perfect, six-inning outing by walking Michael Busch on a questionable full-count ball four call in the fifth. He picked up his first Major League win, 9-3, after leaving his team ahead, 8-0. 

"It was extremely impressive," Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. "I mean, he went right after them."

Just like he was still at LSU.

Paul Skenes Has 18 Ks, 2.70 ERA In 10 Innings Of MLB

In his debut last Saturday at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, Skenes allowed three runs on six hits, including a home run, and walked two with a hit batsman around seven strikeouts through 84 pitches in a four-inning no-decision that the Pirates won, 10-9. He lowered his earned run average from 6.75 to 2.70 with Friday's spectacular performance.

The most pitches Skenes threw during seven starts this season at Triple-A Indianapolis was 75. He probably could have thrown 25 more pitches with little trouble, but the Pirates are being careful with Skenes, who got a $9.2 million signing bonus last summer.

And he was fine with it as players and coaches congratulated him in the dugout after his outing ended. 

"Yeah, it was cool," Skenes said after the game to SportsNet. "To do it in Wrigley kind of makes it more special. It was just a really cool day."

THE FASTEST: Paul Skenes Made His MLB Mark With 1 Start

The Pirates and Cubs have been playing each other in MLB since 1916 for a total of 1,117 games. And Skenes became the first pitcher in Pirates history to strike out as many as 11 at Wrigley, which opened in 1914.

"Uh, it's cool," Skenes said just after getting a cold ice chest shower of Powerade and sunflower seeds from teammates. "Yeah, I don't know. It's cool."

Pittsburgh pitcher Paul Skenes gets a Powerade and sunflower seeds shower after winning his first MLB game Friday at Chicago's Wrigley Field. (Getty Images)

It might be cool if girlfriend Livvy Dunne of LSU gymnastics and Name, Image & Likeness and TV-commercial fame helped him talk a little more in his interviews. His in-game delivery, though, was flawless. He could've been on the Wrigley diamond alone through the first two and a third innings as he struck out the first seven he faced before someone hit the ball in play. He didn't need his outfield until the fifth, which was when a Cub finally hit one out of the infield.

As was the case at LSU, Skenes paced himself throughout the game and got stronger as it went on. That's why his last pitch to Cubs' lead-off hitter Mike Tauchman for a strikeout clocked in at 100 mph, just like the 100 mph fastball Tauchman swung at and missed in the first inning to strike out. Skenes also struck out Tauchman in the fourth on a 94 mph, self-named "Splinker," which is a combination split-finger fastball and sinker. 

"Something I pride myself on is being able to last into the games and that kind of thing," Skenes said. "So, looked up at the board and saw that (100 mph), and that was pretty cool."

Paul Skenes Made Cubs' Top Hitters Look Bad

Skenes also twice struck out Cubs' No. 2 hole hitter Ian Happ, who has been a Pirates' killer. And that was after falling behind Happ two balls and no strikes in the first inning and fourth inning. He battled back each time to a full count and struck Happ out both times on 100 mph fastballs - first looking, then swinging.

"It's frustrating to fall behind 2-and-0 against anybody, but you're never out of the count until the at-bat's over," Skenes said.

It must have been really frustrating for the Cubs to have to face Skenes twice in seven days. 

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