Paul Skenes nearly had a chance at history, but his manager prevented any chance at it.
After dismantling the Brewers through seven no-hit innings, Skenes — who had totaled 99 pitches at that point — was pulled from Thursday’s contest prior to the eighth inning.
Immediately after Skenes exited the game, Pirates reliever Colin Holderman surrendered a single to Jake Bauers, curtailing a combined no-hit attempt.
Pittsburgh manager Derek Shelton defended his decision to opt for a reliever instead of using Skenes in the eighth.
“He was tired,” Shelton explained. “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.”
The manager summarized that Skenes, 22, “gave us everything he had” in seven near-perfect innings.
Shelton added that Skenes’ stuff had declined by the sixth inning and that his body was not reacting as well to pitching.
Many fans and analysts alike were puzzled as to why Skenes, who had cruised through the Brewers’ lineup, was given the hook despite a somewhat high pitch count.
“Every smart dude I’ve talked to in multiple front offices says they have no idea why 100 pitches is some magical number,” wrote former MLB infielder Trevor Plouffe on X. “They all cite being able to see dips in data and biomechanics as a much clearer indicator for stress. So I think I speak for us all…. what is you doinnnnn @Pirates??”
“Absolute joke of a decision,” wrote one fan in reply to a post on X about Skenes getting pulled, receiving over 2,000 likes.
During his previous 10 MLB outings, Skenes had gone above 100 pitches in four of them, including a high of 107 in his last start on Friday against the Mets.
Nonetheless, Shelton’s choice didn’t prove problematic, with Pittsburgh holding on for a 1-0 victory in Milwaukee.
But Skenes stole the ultimate show, lowering his ERA to 1.90 and becoming one of two pitchers in baseball history with two starts of six-plus hitless innings and 11-plus strikeouts in a single year.