Pittsburgh Pirates star Paul Skenes is alerady a superstar in the world of baseball and his last start Thursday against the Milwaukee Brewers proved it once again throwing seven scoreless innings along with 11 strikeouts. However, he was pulled from the game when he could have went for the possible no-hitter as he spoke about multiple situations relating to that on “The Dan Patrick Show” where even Triple-A mangers expected Skenes to fight to stay in the game.
“It’s happened a couple times already this year, where he tells me I’m out of the game, not just here but also in AAA too,” Skenes said. “He tells me I’m out of the game, and then he comes up to me after the game and he’s like, well I was expecting you to fight a little more, and next time I think you should fight a little more. You’re my manager, you’re not supposed to be advocating for me to fight against it, but it’s a little different.”
Pirates' Skenes said he's not used to fighting back to stay in game
Patrick would then ask if he was in the midst of a perfect game, would he then battle with the manager to stay in the game if he were to be pulled. Skenes would say “probably,” but talked about the fact that in every level of baseball, when a skipper pulled him, he went by that decision.
“Probably, I think just the way that I am going all the way back to high school, and then in college. If you get pulled, you get pulled,” Skenes said. “You’re not talking yourself back into the game. That’s something I’m getting used to a little bit, that we have a little bit more pull here than I’ve had in the past, so maybe going forward I will start to fight but that’s kinda just not how I do it I guess.”
While most people thought Skenes should have stayed in the game, the sensation threw 99 pitches Thursday where Pirates manager Derek Shelton noticed he got “tired” according to Sports Illustrated.
“He was tired,” Shelton said. “It really didn't have anything to do with the pitch count. Everybody makes it about pitch counts … It was about where he was at. It was about trusting your eyes, trusting him. When I went and talked to him after, after that, he was tired. They did a good job of wearing him down, and he gave us everything he had.”
“I think the stuff, just how his body was reacting,” Shelton continued. “I mean, even after the sixth we could tell he was getting a little bit tired, I think it's the first time we've seen it … the volume he's had. But overall, the fact that he was able to go back, get through the seventh.”
Skenes understands why he was taken out of game amid possible no-hitter
Skenes sees both sides of the aisle where staying in means he can get a no-hitter and shutout, but the other perspective was he was getting tired and the team decided to bring in a fresh arm. Ultimately, it would culminate in the Pirates winning, 1-0, against the Brewers.
“I wasn't going to be surprised either way, if he sent me out or pulled me,” Skenes said during an appearance on MLB Network. “We have Holderman and (Aroldis) Chapman at the back end of our bullpen, so I think those are probably, I think, two of the best guys in the league so I have a ton of trust in them to finish it. Obviously in a 1-0 game you want to stay in there, you want to finish it, but the volume's getting up there a little bit so I get it.”
At any rate, Skenes is having an incredible rookie season at 22-years old where he has a 1.90 ERA, 89 strikeouts, and a perfect 6-0 record. He was also announced as the National League (NL) All-Star starter which is a huge deal for a pitcher his age as the Pirates are 45-48 which puts them third in the NL Central as they start a three-game series Friday night against the Chicago White Sox.
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