The main story from Monday’s Nationals-Pirates game at PNC Park was Paul Skenes and Dylan Crews -- the No. 1 and No. 2 picks in the 2023 MLB Draft, respectively -- facing off for the first time in the big leagues.
Skenes and Crews matched up in the second and fifth innings. And each time the Nationals outfielder stepped into the batter’s box, he found himself in the middle of a never-before-seen pairing: A battery of No. 1 overall picks.
That’s because Henry Davis, the top choice in the 2021 Draft by Pittsburgh, was behind the plate for both at-bats. That made him and Skenes the first pair of No. 1 overall Draft picks to form a battery in a big league game.
This history wasn’t planned; Davis took over as Skenes’ catcher during the top of the first, replacing an injured Endy Rodríguez. Davis picked up a single during the Pirates’ 10-3 victory, which was one more hit than Crews got off of Skenes. Pittsburgh’s ace induced a weak groundout in each of his two at-bats against his former LSU teammate.