Pittsburgh Pirates manager Don Kelly prioritizes long-term health over individual milestones, pulling Paul Skenes after eight shutout innings.
In his heart, Don Kelly wanted to send Paul Skenes out for the ninth inning on Wednesday night.
However, the Pittsburgh Pirates manager knew the ace right-hander was done after eight innings, even with a 1-0 lead over the Arizona Diamondbacks. The Pirates don't want to risk their best pitcher's health.
Kelly pulled Skenes just three outs from a shutout. The move was justified as Soto pitched a perfect ninth to complete the two-hitter in Phoenix, giving the Pirates their fourth win in five games.
Kelly noticed Skenes labored in the eighth, throwing 17 pitches to reach 97. In his previous start, he threw 102 pitches in five innings against the St. Louis Cardinals.
"Velo ticked down a hair and fell,” Kelly told reporters after the game. "He's getting ahead so much early. And then in that last inning, it just didn't look like the command was as sharp. Good spot to bring Soto in."
Skenes has pitched into the ninth only once in 63 career starts. He understood why Kelly went to Soto to close it out.
Soto has been outstanding in his first season with Pittsburgh, leading the NL with 18 games and posting a 1.50 ERA, allowing three runs and striking out 24 in 18 innings.
"When I came out, I didn’t know what the pitch count was," Skenes said. "I had a lot of confidence in Soto to finish it. I wasn’t worrying about it too much."
Any concerns after Skenes' last outing vanished. After allowing five runs in five innings to the Cardinals, he struck out seven and walked none, improving to 5-2 with a 2.36 ERA.
The Diamondbacks’ hits came on consecutive singles by Lourdes Gurriel Jr. and Nolan Arenado with two outs in the sixth inning, and the Pirates were ahead 1-0. Skenes escaped the jam by getting Gabriel Moreno to line out to right field.
"It always just goes back to execution," Skenes said. "It’s not easy, but it’s simple. If you execute your pitches, it’s gonna go the way you want it to. We got the lead early today. It’s nice to get it in the first, compared to the sixth, seventh, or eighth. Those games are fun to pitch in, for sure."