Paul Skenes Becomes First Pitcher Since 1901 to Achieve Seven or More Strikeouts in 10 of First 11 Career Appearances
MILWAUKEE — Paul Skenes delivered a masterful performance by striking out 11 over seven no-hit innings, leading the Pittsburgh Pirates to a 1-0 victory over the Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday.
In his 11th major league start, Skenes threw 99 pitches, 65 of them for strikes. The All-Star right-hander issued just one walk, lowering his ERA to 1.90.
“It just comes down to going out there and executing,” Skenes said. “If strikeouts are what that looks like, then so be it. It’s just about getting outs.”
Skenes has 89 strikeouts with a 1.90 ERA this season, the highest number of strikeouts with a sub-2.00 ERA through 11 starts since ERA became an official statistic in 1913. He joins an elite list of pitchers, including Fernando Valenzuela and Orel Hershiser.
Colin Holderman took over for Skenes (6-0) and gave up a leadoff single to Jake Bauers for Milwaukee’s first hit. The Brewers threatened in the eighth inning by loading the bases with two outs, but Holderman struck out William Contreras to escape the jam.
Aroldis Chapman closed out the ninth to earn his fourth save, finalizing a two-hit effort for Pittsburgh.
Skenes, the No. 1 overall pick from LSU in last year’s draft, also struck out 11 during six no-hit innings in his second start for Pittsburgh on May 17 against the Chicago Cubs. He has allowed two runs or fewer in nine of his 11 starts.
“I don’t think anybody thinks that when you come to the big leagues, it’s going to be like this,” Pittsburgh manager Derek Shelton said.
The last no-hitter for the Pirates was a combined effort against the Houston Astros on July 12, 1997, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.
Milwaukee wasted a strong outing from Aaron Civale (2-7), who pitched six solid innings before being replaced. The Brewers, still leading the NL Central, have now lost five of their last seven games.
The sole run of the game came in the seventh inning. Ke’Bryan Hayes singled to lead off, followed by a fielder’s choice that put Jack Suwinski on base. Yasmani Grandal then doubled, allowing Suwinski to score from first with a headfirst slide.
After issuing a walk to Andrew McCutchen, Civale was replaced by Bryan Hudson, who ended the inning with a double play from Bryan Reynolds.
Milwaukee’s initial base runner reached when Bauers was hit by a pitch in the second inning. Garrett Mitchell walked subsequently, but Andruw Monasterio struck out to end the threat.
In the third inning, Contreras narrowly missed a home run with a foul ball before eventually striking out after a 10-pitch battle.
Skenes remained composed, pausing to tie his shoe after striking out Willy Adames for the second time in the fourth inning.
“Just falling back to your process and then just focusing on executing and getting the guys out, getting the pitches and, as long as you do that, then everything’s going to kind of fall where it may,” Skenes said. “So, just got to fall back to your preparation.”
Skenes retired his final 16 hitters, striking out eight in that span. He now has a total of 89 strikeouts over 66⅓ innings.
“Guys have velo in the major leagues, but just being able to pitch and kind of just throw anything at any time, he keeps you off-balance,” said Milwaukee slugger Christian Yelich. “I actually thought we did a really good job against him today. I think we could have done a better job of getting him out of the game sooner. I think we let him off the hook with some at-bats there at the end.”
Pittsburgh had defeated the Brewers 12-2 on Tuesday but lost 9-0 on Wednesday. Milwaukee had previously won nine straight home series.