Paul Skenes lived up to the hype during his start at the 2024 MLB All-Star Game.
Only 373 days after the Pittsburgh Pirates made him the No. 1 pick in the 2023 MLB draft, Skenes started the 2024 All-Star Game for the National League. In the first inning, he worked around a two-out walk to Juan Soto to get out of the frame unscathed.
The 22-year-old opened the inning by getting Steven Kwan to pop out harmlessly to shortstop, then induced a weak groundout back to the mound from Gunnar Henderson. Soto came to the dish and worked a seven-pitch walk before Aaron Judge stepped to the plate. It was the matchup everyone wanted to see. Judge swung at the first pitch, a 99-mph four-seam fastball, and bounced the ball right to third baseman Alec Bohm. He handled the grounder and tossed it to second baseman Ketel Marte to force Soto out.
It was a drama-free inning for Skenes, who even got two ugly swings out of Soto on sinkers before walking him on a 100-mph fastball that appeared to be just inside. He threw 16 pitches, 11 of which went for strikes. National League manager Torey Lovullo pulled the righty after one inning as he gave way to Atlanta Braves lefty Max Fried.
Skenes had a brilliant first half to earn a start for the NL. In 11 starts, the 22-year-old is 6–0, with a 1.90 ERA, a 0.92 WHIP, and 89 strikeouts against 12 walks in 66 1/3 innings. He is averaging 12.1 strikeouts per nine innings, which leads the NL. He also has yet to leave a start with the Pirates trailing. He ranks third on the senior circuit in WAR among pitchers at 3.2. And the two guys ahead of him, Hunter Greene and Reynaldo Lopez, have 19 and 17 starts, respectively.
It's no surprise he dominated in his All-Star Game start.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Paul Skenes Faces Juan Soto, Aaron Judge in Impressive All-Star Game Start.
