Paul Skenes and Tarik Skubal, the two starting pitchers for the 2025 MLB All-Star Game, were on fire in their brief appearances on the mound on Tuesday night. And, the stats recorded prove this point further.
Skenes started for the National League and pitched a quick one-two-three to open up the game. He faced Gleyber Torres, Riley Green and Aaron Judge, striking out the first two batters. The Pittsburgh Pirates star ended up notching the two fastest strikeout pitches thrown at the All-Star Game since 2008 when the pitch-tracking era began, according to MLB's Sarah Langs. He threw a 100.3 mph fastball to Greene, and threw a 99.7 fastball to Torres before that.
Skubal added his name to this list, too, when he took to the mound at the bottom of the first inning for the American League. Skubal's outing started out rough as he gave up a single to Shohei Ohtani, another single to Ronald Acuna Jr. and then a double to Ketel Marte. Skubal secured the next three outs, with his final out logging as a strikeout to Will Smith. He threw the third-fastest strikeout pitch recorded in the list mentioned above at 99.6 mph.
Fastest strikeouts by All-Star Game starting pitchers, pitch-tracking era (2008):
— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) July 16, 2025
2025 Paul Skenes: 100.3 mph
2025 Paul Skenes: 99.7 mph
2025 Tarik Skubal: 99.6 mph
2013 Max Scherzer: 99.5 mph
The previous record before Tuesday night was a long-standing one held by Max Scherzer from the 2013 All-Star Game. He threw a 99.5 mph fastball to strike a player out.
It's not surprising that Skubal made this list as he recently jumped to the top of another strikeout speed list. Earlier this season, the Detroit Tigerst starter logged a 102.6 mph strikeout, which is the fastest strikeout pitch thrown by a starter since tracking began in '08, according to MLB.
More MLB on Sports Illustrated
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Paul Skenes, Tarik Skubal Make MLB All-Star Game History With Unprecedented Heat.
