Reigning National League Cy Young winner Paul Skenes joined elite company with consecutive eight-inning masterpieces, yet the Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander maintains a disciplined, pitch-by-pitch mentality.
PITTSBURGH – The old baseball expression claims the only momentum in baseball is the next day’s starting pitcher.
If the next day’s starting pitcher is Paul Skenes, then the Pittsburgh Pirates have a lot of momentum. Even by his lofty standards, the right-hander and reigning National League Cy Young Award winner has been brilliant in his last two starts.
Historically brilliant.
Skenes dominated the Colorado Rockies on Tuesday night in the Pirates’ 3-1 victory at PNC Park in the opener of a three-game series. Skenes took a no-hitter into the seventh inning and wound up allowing two hits in eight scoreless innings while striking out 10 and walking none.
That came after an outing last Wednesday in Phoenix when Skenes also pitched two-hit ball over eight scoreless innings in a 1-0 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field. Skenes had seven strikeouts and no walks while taking a no-hit bid into the sixth inning.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Skenes is just the fourth major-league pitcher in the Modern Era (since 1900) to work at least eight scoreless innings while allowing two or fewer hits and zero walks in consecutive starts. He joins a list that includes Cy Young (Boston Red Sox, 1905), Billy Pierce (Chicago White Sox, 1958), and Mat Latos (San Diego Padres, 2010).
Skenes’ performances have made Pittsburgh manager Don Kelly harken back to his playing days with the Detroit Tigers in 2011. That year, Tigers ace Justin Verlander was the American League’s Most Valuable Player and Cy Young winner.
“Every time he took the mound, you were shocked when he gave up a hit," Kelly said. "Paul is on that type of run right now, just the way that he's throwing the ball, the commanding in the zone, too. Being able to mix it up with all his pitches, it's impressive to watch."
Yet Skenes doesn’t believe he is on a roll. In fact, he argues there is no such thing as momentum in baseball, even when he pitches.
"Every five days it's a brand-new thing,” Skenes said. “At the end of the day, why does one start building off another? It's because you're executing well, and there are certainly times in the season when you're executing pitches better than others, but in terms of mentality and how you're going into each start, that's not the way to do it. Every start is new, and you can get humbled really quickly."
Maybe Skenes will be humbled the next time he takes the mound on Sunday against the Philadelphia Phillies to conclude the six-game homestand. Maybe Skenes won’t be able to match these last starts. True to Skenes’ understated ways, he is not making any predictions.
"I had a joke in college, when I would give up a couple runs or something, like, 'You've got to scrap everything, raise your arm slot and start throwing your changeup more,'" Skenes said. "Really, you've just got to get back to what you do well. Nothing changes. Your routine should be the same. Good outing, bad outing, whatever. Like, just do your thing.
“Go into each start with the same goal. Big league hitters, they have bats, they drive nice cars, sometimes they're going to get to you, and you've just got to stay the same in the four or five days between starts and stay the same on your start day too."
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