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Fans almost got a Paul Skenes vs. Tarik Skubal duel when the Pittsburgh Pirates played the Detroit Tigers in June. Both pitched during a doubleheader caused by a rain delay but they started in different games. However, the highly-anticipated matchup will take place on the national stage as Skenes and Skubal will square off as the starters for the 2025 All-Star Game.
Skenes was named the National League’s starter for the second straight year. He’s now the youngest pitcher ever to start the All-Star Game in back-to-back seasons, per MLB.com’s Sarah Langs.
Pirates ace Paul Skenes continues to dominate
Skenes burst onto the scene, making his MLB debut a year after the Pirates drafted him first overall. In 2024 Skenes was selected to the All-Star Game and named the starter, finished third in Cy Young voting and took home NL Rookie of the Year honors.
The 23-year-old hurler has followed up his incredible debut with a sensational sophomore season for the Pirates. Skenes leads the majors in ERA (2.01), ERA+ (213) and bWAR (4.8). He also has a 0.926 WHIP and 131 strikeouts in 121 innings over 20 starts
But Skenes’ brilliance has been undermined by the Pirates’ incompetence as the pitcher has received a historic lack of run support. Skenes has allowed two or fewer runs while throwing at least five innings 17 times this season. The Pirates have lost eight of those games.
The lack of run support has caused a strange ERA vs record combo for Skenes this season. While he’s clearly been one of baseball’s most dominant pitchers, he has just four wins to show for it.
After getting off to a strong start against the Minnesota Twins in his most recent outing, Skenes ultimately gave up a two-run home run and the Pirates couldn’t recover. That dropped his record to 4-8 on the season.
In his previous start, Skenes tossed five shutout innings against the Seattle Mariners, striking out 10 batters. And the bullpen did well too, allowing just one run the rest of the way. But Pittsburgh’s offense couldn’t score and the team lost 1-0. That was one of three straight shutout losses the Pirates endured at the start of their current eight-game losing streak.
But Skenes will have a better lineup supporting him when he takes the mound at Truist Park on July 15 for the MLB All-Star Game.
