Baseball isn’t supposed to be this easy, but Paul Skenes is certainly making it look that way.
Skenes’ latest masterpiece for the Pirates was seven no-hit innings against the NL Central-leading Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday.
Just 11 starts into his career, Skenes is 6-0 with a 1.90 ERA and a National League all-star. He might be and should be the starter for the National League in the Midsummer Classic this coming Tuesday. Honestly, he might be the best pitcher in baseball right now. That’s not hyperbole or being a prisoner of the moment, that’s just a fact.
Pirates’ manager Derek Shelton drew the ire of many, especially on social media, pulling Skenes after 99 pitches. Reliever Colin Holderman, just two pitches into the eighth inning, gave up a single to Jake Bauers and loaded the bases in a 1-0 game before striking out all-star William Contreras to end the inning.
Aroldis Chapman pitched a 1-2-3 ninth to pick up the save and preserve a win for the Pirates, who took two of three in Milwaukee, a place where they have traditionally struggled, but that’s not what anyone was talking about afterwards.
Shelton was asked if it was a tough decision to pull Skenes, despite throwing just six pitches in a 1-2-3 seventh inning.
“Not at all. He was tired,” the manager replied.
That didn’t stop Shelton from being almost universally panned for his decision.
I get it, it would have been awesome to see Skenes go back out and try to finish off a potential no-hitter. There isn’t a baseball fan, Pirates or otherwise, that didn’t want to see that. There’s a big part of me that would have loved to have seen that, also.
But, while the Pirates as an organization generally don’t get a free pass (for good reason) on almost anything they do, they get one here.
Out of the 29 other Major League teams, I venture to say most, if not all of them, would have made the same decision.
In 2012, Johan Santana pitched a no-hitter for the Mets, the first in franchise history, needing 134 pitches to do so. The 2012 season was also his last in the big leagues at age 33, with shoulder problems ultimately ending his career.
Just two years ago, Clayton Kershaw was pulled after pitching seven perfect innings and sitting at 80 pitches. For context, Kershaw was coming off a 2021 season that saw him miss the playoffs because of an elbow injury.
In 2012, the Nationals, in the middle of a pennant race, shut down Stephen Strasburg in early September after 159 innings pitched. Injuries ultimately ended Strasburg’s career in 2012 at the same age as Santana — 33.
All of this is to say there’s no exact science here. There’s no correlation between number of innings pitched or number of pitches thrown as it relates to arm injuries. Every Major League baseball executive and coach in the country will tell you that.
So, would we all have liked to have seen Skenes pitch a no-hitter on Thursday? Absolutely. Is this a decision the Pirates should get blasted for? Absolutely not.
For better or worse, they were protecting perhaps the most valuable asset in baseball right now.
