CHICAGO (AP) — Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Paul Skenes pitched six no-hit innings in his second major league start before Christopher Morel singled against Carmen Mlodzinski in the seventh for the Cubs’ first hit of the game.
Skenes, one of baseball’s top prospects, struck out 11, including his first seven batters on a sunny Friday at Wrigley Field. He threw 100 pitches, 67 for strikes.
Mlodzinski retired the first two batters in the seventh before Morel lined a single into right field.
The Pirates had an 8-0 lead.
Michael Busch walked in the fifth for Chicago’s only baserunner against Skenes. Morel led off the fifth with a routine fly ball to left that Bryan Reynolds hauled in just shy of the warning track.
Skenes, who turns 22 on May 29, was selected by Pittsburgh with the No. 1 overall pick in last year’s amateur draft. He helped LSU win the national championship before agreeing to a contract with the Pirates that included a $9.2 million signing bonus.
He had a 0.99 ERA in seven starts with Triple-A Indianapolis when he was brought up by the Pirates last weekend. He pitched four innings of three-run ball in his major league debut against Chicago, striking out seven and walking two.
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