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Paul Skenes had the best performance of his career on Thursday, throwing seven scoreless innings against the division leading Brewers.
Despite having not allowed a hit while possessing a pitch count under 100, the rookie was removed from action by Pirates manager Derek Shelton.
That decision was criticized by many, though Pittsburgh would leave with a 1-0 win. Most just wanted to see if Skenes could finish the job!
Across those seven frames, the righty tied a career-high 11 strikeouts on 99 pitches while allowing one walk and no hits.
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While dominant, Shelton opted to go to the bullpen for the final two innings.
Relievers would allow a pair of hits to Milwaukee batters as the Brewers broke up the no-hitter late. Still, the bullpen did its job in securing a win.
Skenes moved to 6-0 on the year as his All-Star season continues.
Pirates manager details why he took Paul Skenes out of the game.
Fans blasted Derek Shelton for his decision to remove his star pitcher from the mound rather than let him chase history.
He simply said Skenes was tired in response to that criticism.
“He was tired. It really didn’t have anything to do with the pitch count. Everybody makes it about pitch count. It was about where he was at. It was about trusting your eyes, trusting him. When I went and talked to him after that, he was tired. They did a good job of wearing him down, but he gave us everything he had.”
-Derek Shelton on removing Paul Skenes from no-hitter
Shelton said Skenes’ stuff didn’t look the same, and he could tell going into that seventh inning. Impressively, he got through that frame unscathed.
Skenes said that he wanted to finish the game but understood the decision.
“Definitely wanted to finish it, but throwing every six days… I understand the decision.”
-Paul Skenes on his removal
It makes sense to be cautious with the team’s most recent No. 1 pick. While he’s performed incredibly to this point, the MLB season is long, and Skenes is still a rookie.
Hopefully this won’t be the closest he comes to tossing a no-hitter. Either way, Shelton clearly stands by his decision.