Pittsburgh Pirates elite starter Paul Skenes throws eight innings of two-hit ball as Arizona Diamondbacks lose.
For anyone attending the Arizona Diamondbacks' home game against the Pittsburgh Pirates on Wednesday night, they got a look at one of baseball's premier pitchers in Paul Skenes.
Skenes worked eight innings of two-hit ball and the Pirates made their run in the first inning hold up for a 1-0 win over the Diamondbacks at Chase Field in Downtown Phoenix.
While Skenes was twirling a masterpiece, Arizona starter Michael Soroka wasn't too shabby at all. Soroka worked 6 1/3 innings against the Pirates, giving up seven hits and that one earned run. Despite all that, Soroka's record falls to 4-2 with the defeat.
Skenes, now 5-2 this season, didn't walk a batter, didn't allow an earned run, and struck out eight Arizona hitters. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Nolan Arenado were the only Diamondbacks to get hits off of Skenes, who continues to amaze whenever he takes the mound.
Gregory Soto worked the ninth for the Pirates for his second save this season.
Pittsburgh's Brandon Lowe hit a solo home run in the first inning, his ninth homer this season. Lowe connected on a Soroka pitch and sent it over the center-field wall.
After that, Diamondbacks fans were treated to a good old-fashioned pitcher's duel. There aren't many 1-0 games that find their way onto an MLB schedule of games on a regular basis. But Skenes and Soroka were just pitching so well on Wednesday night.
With the victory, the Pirates are now 20-17 this season. The Diamondbacks fall to one game under .500 at 17-18.
Arizona will wrap up its series against the Pirates on Thursday afternoon before opening up a three-game series at Chase Field against the New York Mets on Friday night. Any workers in Downtown Phoenix can head on over to Chase Field if they want to get away from the office for a bit.
The Mets were looking to get a win on Wednesday night in Colorado against the Rockies as snow was getting removed from Coors Field ahead of that first pitch. The Mets and Rockies will wrap up their series with a Thursday afternoon matchup.
So, the Mets will go from the frigid cold of Denver, Colo., and try to thaw out in the Valley of the Sun. But the Diamondbacks hope to heat it up against Mets pitching, too.
First pitch in Phoenix on Friday night is set for 6:40 p.m. local time. The Diamondbacks and Mets will play afternoon games on Saturday and Sunday.
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