Paul Skenes and three Pittsburgh Pirates relievers—Ryan Borucki, Dennis Santana and David Bednar—combined for a shutout of the Los Angeles Dodgers on Friday, who are certainly not short on bats. It was the exact sort of performance you hope to see from a young ace going up against one of the best teams in baseball.
While the result was great, Skenes was not perfect, including getting himself into a hole in the fifth inning with reigning NL MVP Shohei Ohtani at the plate and a runner in scoring position. The count went to 3-1 before a fouled-off splitter loaded the count. Then, Skenes dropped in a curveball that Ohtani whiffed at, marking the third time Skenes got Ohtani out that night to end his work for the inning.
