Pirates rookie righty Paul Skenes had a chance at history ripped from his hands to protect his arm on Thursday, and he looked less than thrilled about it.
Skenes was seen in the dugout being told by Pirates manager Derek Shelton that he would not be going out for the eighth inning, and while he did well to maintain his composure, it’s hard to fault the stud pitcher for being disappointed.
“Definitely wanted to finish it,” Skenes said postgame after being pulled from an incredibly dominant seven-inning, 11-strikeout no-hitter after throwing 99 pitches. “Throwing every six days, five days, whatever it is now, I definitely understand that side of it.”
Shortly after being pulled from the game, Skenes would watch the Pirates’ shaky bullpen blow the no-hitter in the eighth inning, although they still came away with the 1-0 win against the Brewers as Aroldis Chapman shut the door in the ninth.
Skenes, 22, added that he didn’t start thinking about the no-hitter until the sixth inning, saying he “labored” through the first few innings before settling in.
The Pirates stud right-hander claims to have never thrown a no-hitter.
“Not even in Little League,” he said.
Pittsburgh played the dangerous game of handing, not just a no-hitter, but a one-run ball game to their struggling bullpen.
The Pirates have the fourth-most blown saves in baseball (17) thanks to down years from Chapman and regular closer David Bednar.
Still, Shelton claimed that Skenes’ removal had nothing to do with an innings limit or pitch count.
“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 hope for the Pirates is that Skenes is available throughout the MLB playoff sprint after the All-Star Break.
The 45-48 squad boasts an excellent rotation when healthy, also featuring Jared Jones and Mitch Keller, and are 2 1/2 games out of the final wild-card spot.
