Paul Skenes Gives Up HR On His First Pitch, But Was Lights Out The Rest Of Game Against Tampa

Pitchers prefer to start their appearances on the mound without much difficulty. Pittsburgh Pirates rookie Paul Skenes did not get that benefit Sunday afternoon.

The first-year flamethrower was making his eighth appearance of the season, this time against the Tampa Bay Rays. His first test was against first baseman Yand Diaz, and let's just say the batter won this initial test.

On the first pitch of the game (a 99-mph four-seam fastball) Diaz swung and blasted the ball into the right field stands for a solo home run. One pitch, on run for Tampa Bay.

Not a great start for Skenes to say the least. But don’t worry, he didn’t let his inexperience get to him, and he quickly settled into the game.

Skenes began unleashing all kinds of wizard-like pitches, ranging from his trademark fastballs to his vomit-inducing splitter/sinker pitch.

Over the next six innings, he looked largely unhittable and even got out of a bases-loaded jam in the third inning. Think that first-pitch moonshot bothered him at all? Apparently not!

Skenes went seven full innings, giving up just six hits, while recording eight strikeouts on 98  pitches.

The only problem is that he didn’t get any run support, as Pittsburgh only notched a solo home run from designated hitter Bryan Reynolds in the fourth inning. As such, he got a no-decision despite an excellent day on the mound.

To make things worse, the Pirates lost 3-1, which is probably more important to Skenes anyway. That's a rough team outing.