Good morning, I’m Dan Gartland. Is there any more perfect way to end a meaningless preseason football game than in a tie?
In today’s SI:AM:
🏈 Chiefs camp report
🤯 CFB’s most unforgettable games
⚾ Giants’ lost season
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Skenes is still untouchable
Just how good is Pirates ace Paul Skenes? Good enough that he was able to give up a career-high number of hits in Thursday’s start against the Reds and still not allow a run.
Cincinnati managed seven hits (five singles and two doubles) off of Skenes in six innings but was unable to scratch across a run as Skenes lowered his MLB-best ERA to a paltry 1.94. Pittsburgh, meanwhile, roughed up Reds starter Brady Singer and did some more damage against the bullpen in a 7–0 win.
It was the first time in Skenes’s brief but stellar career that he’d allowed more than six hits in a game. His streak of 46 starts to begin a career with six hits allowed or fewer was the longest in MLB history, excluding openers. Skenes had long since surpassed the previous mark of 31 straight starts, set by Shohei Ohtani.
“He’s got that knack. He’s got elite stuff, but when he gets in trouble, he’s able to go to a lot of different things to get out of the inning, to be able to get punchouts or induce double plays,” Pirates manager Don Kelly said. “He’s got that feel of a pitcher. He has power stuff, but he’s a pitcher, and he’s able to use it to induce a double play or go for the punchout when he needs it. There aren’t many like him.”
While one streak was snapped, another remains intact. Skenes has now pitched 27 ⅔ straight scoreless innings at home. He hasn’t allowed a run in Pittsburgh since June 8.
Skenes has been nearly untouchable for his entire MLB career. Since making his debut in May of last year, he has a 1.95 ERA and 0.939 WHIP. That’s the lowest ERA in the first 47 starts of a player’s career in more than 100 years. (Dutch Ruether had a 1.94 ERA in his first 47 starts for the Cubs and Reds from 1917 to ’20, although he also pitched in relief.)
Skenes was a legitimate Cy Young candidate last season, despite only making 23 starts, and is a heavy favorite to win the award this year in his first full season in the big leagues. He currently has the lowest ERA in the majors and has the second-lowest FIP (behind only Tarik Skubal of the Tigers, the reigning AL Cy Young winner). He’s also given up the fewest home runs per nine innings (0.4).
Skenes’s dominance makes the Pirates’ struggles all the more frustrating. Pittsburgh is in last place in the NL Central at 50–66 and is 11–12 in games started by Skenes this season. The team’s offense has scored two runs or fewer in 10 of his starts. Only seven pitchers in the majors have had more games with that little run support, and two of them are also Pirates (Mitch Keller and Andrew Heaney). It’s baffling that the Pirates wouldn’t want to invest in improving the team around Skenes to take advantage of having one of the best pitchers in the majors earning a league-minimum salary. Still, at least Skenes gives fans something worth watching every fifth day.
The best of Sports Illustrated
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- The most unforgettable games in college football history—ranked. From wild finishes to iconic upsets, here are SI’s top 25 matchups of the past 25 years.
- Oregon checks in at No. 11 in SI’s College Football Preseason Top 25. With Dan Lanning building a powerhouse in Eugene, the Ducks are poised to make a serious title run.
- The Giants’ gamble on Rafael Devers was supposed to spark a playoff surge—but instead, it’s unraveled into a disastrous season. Ryan Phillips examines what went wrong in San Francisco and where the team goes from here.
- Wide receiver Jerry Jeudy receives a unique honor for his memorable first season in Cleveland—SI’s 2024 Octopus of the Year Award. He opens up about his emotional return to Denver, a record-setting game and his approach to the upcoming season.
- The 30 nominees were revealed for the men's and women's Ballon d'Or award, to be presented in September.
- Kylian Mbappé joins Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo as the only players to reach an impressive Ballon d'Or milestone.
The top five…
… things I saw last night:
5. Marshawn Lynch’s debut as an NFL sideline photographer.
4. A great diving catch by Tigers prospect Patrick Lee.
3. The reception Reds third baseman Ke’Bryan Hayes got in his first game back in Pittsburgh after being traded by the Pirates.
2. Alyssa Thomas’s 10th assist for her third straight triple-double. She’s the first player in WNBA history to accomplish that feat.
1. An outstanding one-handed barehand catch by a Braves fan.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as SI:AM | Paul Skenes Sees Historic Streak Snapped.
