It was a bummer on Thursday when Pittsburgh Pirates rookie ace Paul Skenes wasn’t allowed to continue his no-hit bid through seven innings. Making up for that on Friday was National League All-Star manager Torey Lovullo publicly declaring Skenes as the starter for his team.
While Skenes was doing an interview on The Dan Patrick Show, the Arizona Diamondbacks skipper hopped on the horn to break the news to Skenes in real time:
NL All-Star manager Torey Lovullo calls in to tell Paul Skenes he will be the NL starter for the All-Star Game@Paul_Skenes @Pirates @MLB pic.twitter.com/EeAmuuM17l
— Dan Patrick Show (@dpshow) July 12, 2024
WARNING: A heat wave is about to hit Texas.
Paul Skenes has been named the starting pitcher for the National League at the All-Star Game 👏 pic.twitter.com/wjOKiloWOm
— Pittsburgh Pirates (@Pirates) July 12, 2024
The concept for this sort of stunt was probably better than its overall execution. Once Lovullo hung up the horn, Skenes didn’t really know how to react as Patrick soldiered through the rest of his questions. It’s got to be surreal for Skenes. Despite how much hype and public exposure he’s gotten — in no small part thanks to dating Livvy Dunne — already getting the nod as an All-Star Game starter is literally unprecedented for somebody so inexperienced at the MLB level.
Paul Skenes' 11 games played are the fewest of all-time by an MLB All-Star, per @SlangsOnSports pic.twitter.com/c8ahdev7w5
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) July 12, 2024
Watch him for a mere inning, though, and it’s clear why Skenes is getting the ball for the NL for Tuesday’s showdown against the American League at Globe Life Field in Arlington, Texas. Just look at the ridiculous variation in velocities of Skenes’ pitches.
Paul Skenes, 99mph Fastball (noncompetitive pitch/ ball) and 85mph Back Door Slider (backwards K), Individual Pitches + Overlay.
Why you'd give up on Paul Skenes's back door slider. pic.twitter.com/jrfIZGf80a
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) July 12, 2024
The 22-year-old has two no-hit appearances thanks to Thursday’s latest gem versus the Brewers, adding to the six no-no frames he pitched in just his second start against the Cubs. I’ve seen some pretty ridiculous stats in my days covering sports. Baseball is notorious for getting into the nitty-gritty and mining every piece of sabermetrics and advanced data to better explain what’s going on. This is pretty straightforward, though, and straight-up silly:
Nolan Ryan did this in his 7th season
Max Scherzer did it in his 8th season
Justin Verlander did it in his 17th seasonPaul Skenes did it within his first 11 career starts lmao pic.twitter.com/Mi6dU1JB2E
— Addison (@YankeeWRLD) July 11, 2024
So yeah, it was a no-brainer choice by Lovullo to make Skenes his starter. He has the most special stuff of anyone in the sport, and will get eyeballs on the exhibition tilt more so than anyone else could conceive of doing at this particular point in time.
Thank goodness for Paul Skenes. Where would baseball be without him right now? He’s keeping the sport relevant almost by himself during a period where everyone in America is just dying for football to come back and the Summer Olympics are fast approaching. Skenes could be responsible for getting folks to actually tune in live on Tuesday night, rather than just checking out the highlights later on.
PS, decent take here by Livvy Dunne on her boyfriend getting pulled during his no-hitter — even if I disagree with it.
.@livvydunne discusses Paul Skenes getting pulled from a no-hitter after seven innings ⚾️ pic.twitter.com/1gNRgiC1NH
— Sports Illustrated (@SInow) July 12, 2024
