The Pittsburgh Pirates engaged in an air-tight matchup against the Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday. Rookie pitcher Paul Skenes had another impressive outing, pitching seven innings with no-hits. Skenes approached a crucial point when his pitched count totaled 99. Derek Shelton decided to take the rookie out to not push him over the limit and risk injury, and Skenes broke the silence on his manager's tough decision.
“I wasn't going to be surprised either way if he sent me out or pulled me. I mean, we have [Colin] Holderman and [Aroldis] Chapman at the backend of our bullpen, so I think those are probably two of the best guys in the league. So I have a ton of trust in them to finish it,” Skenes said, via MLB Network.
Despite trusting his coaches and teammates, Skenes admitted his desire to be in and help his club.
“Obviously, a 1-0 game, you want to stay in there. You want to finish it. But you know, the volume's getting up there a little bit. So I get it,” Skenes added.
Skenes' stout showing on the mound helped the Pirates end their Brewers series with a 2-1 record. Skenes cruised through Milwaukee's lineup. Yet, Derek Shelton elected to play things safe as Skenes approached his 100th pitch.
The decision to pull Skenes was likely a good move, considering he threw 107 pitches in his previous outing, as noted by commentators on MLB Network. Hopefully, Skenes can continue his impressive rookie run and help the Pirates climb the NL Central standings.
Skenes' Pirates-Brewers volume brings up important topic
Some fans disagreed with Derek Shelton's move to take Paul Skenes out of the game. They believed Skenes should have finished the game, given the streak he was on and the fact that would soon get rest. However, Shelton wants to prevent unnecessary injuries to Pittsburgh's talented rookie.
ClutchPoints' Joshua Valdez provided insight on the trend of being conservative with MLB pitchers to prevent ailments.
“Much has been made of the MLB's increasingly conservative approach to starting pitching, with managers rarely letting their starters toss complete games nowadays. The only hurler with multiple nine-inning outings this year is Max Fried of the Atlanta Braves, who has two. The last pitchers to throw more than three in a season were Corey Kluber and Ervin Santana, who each did it five times in 2017,” Valdez wrote.
“Right up until a few years ago, that was the common practice when a team's starting pitcher was tossing a no-hitter and/or perfect game. Now, though, teams are so afraid of losing their hurlers to injury that they often won't allow them to finish what they started,” Valdez continued.
The argument to keep a pitcher in or take them out when they approach the 100 mark is a slippery slope. Perhaps modern-day pitchers can push themselves to higher volumes. At the same time, teams want their stars to remain healthy, especially with the plethora of elbow issues that can arise from overuse injuries.
Regardless, Paul Skenes looks to be healthy and continues to contribute to his team, which is the most important thing.
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