PITTSBURGH – How popular is Paul Skenes in Pittsburgh? So popular that the 300 Pirates fans crowded around the home bullpen at PNC Park on September 4, hoping to watch the young star throw warmup pitches prior to his start against the Los Angeles Dodgers.
Skenes, 23, is passing every test thrown his way and the Pittsburgh Pirates’ right-handed pitcher is the best pitcher in baseball this season and he shut down the defending World Series champion, Los Angeles Dodgers again in Pittsburgh Thursday night.
In 2025, Skenes has thrown 12 ⅓ innings against them and hasn’t allowed a run, while striking out 17 Dodgers in two starts this season.
“It’s his drive and his competitiveness. The way he attacks and gets after it and it may show up against the elite teams especially the Dodgers, but he brings it every single day, which makes him really special,” Pirates manager Don Kelly said in the postgame press conference.
Skenes is making history for the second straight season. He has an MLB-best 1.98 ERA and is now tied for the National League with 195 strikeouts in 173 innings this season.
Pirates catcher Joey Bart summed it up perfectly before Skenes even threw a pitch last night.
“I think his best outing of the year was that first time he faced the Dodgers. He had everything working and he was in attack mode all night and he didn’t shake off too many times,” Bart told World Baseball Network before the game.
He previously threw 6 ⅓ scoreless innings at Dodger Stadium with nine strikeouts on April 25 in a 3-0 win.
He has a record of 2-3 with two no-decisions against pitchers who have an ERA under four and an ERA+ of 120 or greater.
Skenes had everything working against the Dodgers his second time around. He struck out Dodgers two-way star Shohei Ohtani twice and had eight total K’s in six scoreless innings.
Last night’s Skenes-Othani showdowns provided a possible preview for a Team USA and Japan battle in the 2026 World Baseball Classic.
Skenes only had one real jam the whole night, and it was hardly a jam at all, when he gave up a fourth-inning double to the Dodgers’ Dalton Rushing. He got out of it quickly, getting Mookie Betts to ground into a fielder’s choice two batters later, and only gave up one other hit and one walk Thursday.
“What he’s doing at such a young age is really impressive,” Bart said of the former LSU star who is evolving into one of the best young pitchers in recent memory. “He’s in complete command of his pitches, and has conviction with everything he throws. I don’t have to do too much when he’s locked in, but catching his splinker is challenging because it moves so much.”
Jonathan Mayo, a minor league reporter for MLB.com, followed Skenes as he prepared for the MLB Draft in 2023, which where he was drafted first overall by the Pirates.
“He had such high expectations and yet he still continues to exceed them and he’s even better than I thought he would be,” Mayo said. “It’s also fitting he’s playing for Team USA in the 2026 World Baseball Classic because of his ties to the Air Force Academy.”
Skenes attended Air Force and was a two-way player for two seasons before transferring to LSU.
“I think everyone is aware of the talent that he had when he was drafted. What’s impressive to me is the consistency and the intensity that he brings. I’ve seen him working on off days and being diligent with his work,” said Dodgers reliever Michael Kopech, another pitcher who had to deal with high expectations being a first-round pick of the Boston Red Sox in 2014.
Kopech has a tremendous amount of respect for Skenes and he wishes him good luck going forward. He is rooting for Skenes to keep up his tremendous play.
“For somebody that has that many eyes on him and has that kind of pressure he has on him to see him continue to exceed expectations is pretty spectacular,” he said.
So spectacular that when Skenes warms up in the bullpen, it’s appointment viewing for Pirates’ fans.
And we he finished in the bullpen, the fans gave him a standing ovation, knowing they’re about to see the kind of pitcher who comes around once a generation go to work.
Photo: Paul Skenes delivers during the first inning of a baseball game against the Los Angeles Dodgers, Thursday, Sept. 4, 2025, in Pittsburgh. (AP Photo/Matt Freed)
