Derek Shelton’s postgame remarks have left Pirates fans clamoring to see more of Paul Skenes…
“Let the kid play.”
Pittsburgh Pirates’ rookie sensation Paul Skenes was named the National League’s starting pitcher for the MLB All-Star Game after a stunning performance against the Milwaukee Brewers on Thursday. Skenes delivered 99 pitches over seven innings of no-hit baseball, matched his career high with 11 strikeouts in a single game, and set a new franchise record with seven or more strikeouts in eight consecutive starts.
The real headline, however, was Pirates manager Derek Shelton’s contentious decision to pull Skenes from the game after the seventh inning, preventing him from completing the no-hitter.
Adding to the controversy was Shelton’s choice to hand the ball to reliever Colin Holderman, who was struggling with his worst form of the season. Predictably, Holderman immediately gave up a hit, then loaded the bases before narrowly escaping the inning unscathed.
This raises the question: Was it a difficult decision for Shelton to take Skenes out during one of the most dominant performances of his young career?
“Not at all,” Shelton stated during his postgame media session.
Oh. Well then.
“He was tired,” Shelton continued. “It really didn’t have anything to do with the pitch count; everyone focuses on pitch counts. It was about where he was at. It was about trusting your eyes, trusting him. When I went and talked to him after [the seventh inning], he was tired. They did a good job of wearing him down. He gave us everything he had.”
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Did he, though? Skenes had thrown 99 pitches, and he often threw well into the 120s in college. Even if “it didn’t have anything to do with the pitch count,” it seems a bit too coincidental that Skenes finished just one pitch short of Major League Baseball’s unofficial 100-pitch limit for starters. Moreover, 99 pitches over seven innings is vastly different from 99 pitches over four or five innings.
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