PITTSBURGH – When it became clear that Pirates rookie right-hander Paul Skenes would make his fifth big-league start against the Dodgers, it made sense to circle the game on the calendar as a definitive must-watch.
No matter who is on the mound, the Dodgers first innings have become an event in themselves considering the three MVPs at the top of the lineup: Mookie Betts, Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman. And with each Skenes starting early in his career and feeling equally memorable, it was a perfect storm of regular-season intrigue, making Wednesday’s game a little more special than the average midweek game in June.
As the first pitch approached, a buzz grew among the PNC Park crowd eager to witness Skenes show off his stuff against three of the best hitters in the world.
But it’s still baseball. So many disappointing results can come from the appearance of an individual board; grand visions of epic strikeouts or massive home runs that punctuate matchups between top talents rarely come to fruition. Pitching two of the game’s best players against each other cannot guarantee a memorable outcome, but can only pave the way for one outcome.
But when the stars align, and the results of these elevated record performances match the supersonic talent on that stage? You have to appreciate that when it happens.
Skenes’ first pitch against Betts on Wednesday was a 100 mph fastball at the bottom of the zone for the first strike. His second offering was a 100 mph fastball at the top of the zone that Betts unluckily swung through for strike two. Two pitches later, Betts swung at a slider for strike three. The crowd erupted, not realizing it was just a taste of what was to come next.
In less than a minute of real time, Skenes threw three consecutive triple-digit fastballs and delivered three consecutive whiffs after three spectacularly intense swings from Ohtani. The ballpark once again exploded with excitement as Ohtani stumbled dazedly back to the dugout, where he left to emphatically reflect on the thrilling shootout he had just lost.
Round 1 went to Skenes, who turned 22 last week.
While everyone in the ballpark was probably eager to fast-forward to the next Skenes/Ohtani at-bat, the rematch was postponed somewhat. The Pirates attacked Dodgers starter James Paxton and forced him to leave after only five outs. By the time Ohtani arrived at the plate nearly 50 minutes later in the third, Skenes had gained a 7-0 lead. While the home fans enjoyed a comfortable cushion, the crowd’s attention turned back to how Skenes would attack Ohtani in Round 2.
Once again, Skenes greeted Ohtani at 100 miles per hour, and once again Ohtani swung with the intention of causing damage, but to no avail. After Ohtani was unimpressed with two changes outside the zone for balls one and two, Skenes went back to basics: 100mph above the zone, leading to another vicious, helpless hack from Ohtani for the second strike. Another 100-mph heater followed, from the inside of the plate for ball three, making for an always-tantalizing full count.
Having already racked up an astonishing five whiffs on five fastballs from one of the most dangerous fastball hitters of this generation, Skenes backed down once more. At the top of the attack zone a speed of 160.1 km/h came in. A towering fly ball went out to center field, which soared over the 10-foot wall for a home run.
Round 2 went to Ohtani, who leads the National League in total bases and also knows a thing or two about throwing 100 mph.
“Yeah, I like to call that ‘big on big,’” Skenes said afterward. “Evidently, [I] beat him a few times before. And I think that was the right pitch to throw there. He’s just a damn good player. So things like that are going to happen.
“And honestly, that’s why we play the game, for matchups like that. So [I’m] I’m not happy giving it up, but it’s part of the game.”
Reflecting on Skene’s postgame, Ohtani gave his analysis through interpreter Will Ireton: “The stuff itself was really good. As you saw with my first at-bat, I couldn’t really make good swings. But overall it’s just really good stuff.
“It’s not so much about the velo, but about the angle and the clearance [that make Skenes hard to hit]so I made the adjustment in the second at bat.”
Ohtani’s uncanny ability to adjust on the fly, even after looking so overmatched in the first inning, was on display in his third at-bat against Skenes during an eventful fifth inning. After rookie center fielder Andy Pages tagged Skenes for a home run to start the inning and Chris Taylor reached on an error, Skenes responded by striking out both Betts and Freeman.
Between those two Ks, Ohtani ripped a single into right field on – you guessed it – a high fastball. Although Skenes came out of the inning to end his night without further damage, Ohtani claimed the third and final round of their fight, leaving us all wondering how Skenes will respond in their next encounter. (The Pirates visit Dodger Stadium from August 9-11, in case you’re curious.)
Ohtani might have ended the night with the upper hand between the two, but Skenes undoubtedly handled the bigger job of taming the Dodgers’ lineup and securing a series victory for Pittsburgh with the 10-6 victory. His successful performance was an exciting encore to what fellow rookie righty Jared Jones did in the series opener on Tuesday, pitching six scoreless innings with three of his own dramatic encounters with Ohtani, all of which went Jones’ way (2 K’s and a GIDP).
A close friend of Skenes who still played travel ball as teenagers in Southern California, Jones handles stuff as electric as his ultra-famous teammate, albeit without the necessary fame — at least not yet. But with the duo gaining more attention and promise with each successive performance, the future in Pittsburgh appears to be quickly becoming brighter, and that feeling was palpable over the past two nights at PNC Park.
“It was a great atmosphere,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said Wednesday. “And you know, I think when you have young players, you drafted and developed them the way we did [Jared] Jones, Skenes and even [Mitch] Keller, we see that the fans are looking forward to it.
“It’s really fun to see this ballpark come to life.”
