Paul Skenes Struck Out Diamondbacks Hitter With Nastiest 86-MPH Pitch of His Career

Paul Skenes was dominant against the Arizona Diamondbacks on Sunday. | Screenshot via Pitching Ninja on X

Paul Skenes was looking like his usual dominant self on the mound during the Pittsburgh Pirates' Sunday showdown against the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Skenes racked up eight strikeouts throughout the first four innings, including a particularly devastating punch-out against Adrian Del Castillo in the fourth inning. The Diamondbacks' designated hitter stood absolutely no chance against a nasty 86-mph sweeper from Skenes that broke across the entire plate.

The pitch started on the outside and ended up running well inside on Del Castillo who whiffed on the pitch badly for his second strikeout of the game. Have a look:

Paul Skenes, Teleporting 86mph Sweeper. ☄️

6th K pic.twitter.com/kY4iqKKDbC

— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) July 27, 2025

Simply unhittable stuff from Skenes, who had some of his best stuff on the mound on Sunday, and received some rare early run support from the Pirates lineup, who tagged Zac Gallen for three runs early on.

---

More MLB on Sports Illustrated

This article was originally published on www.si.com as Paul Skenes Struck Out Diamondbacks Hitter With Nastiest 86-MPH Pitch of His Career.