PITTSBURGH -- It’s every kid's dream to face their favorite team in the Major Leagues. Nearing the end of his third MLB campaign, Paul Skenes realized that dream on Sunday at PNC Park.
Born in Fullerton, Calif., Skenes grew up a die-hard fan of the Angels, meeting Garret Anderson as a kid and later meeting Mike Trout as a big leaguer last season. In his first career start against the Halos, Skenes threw 5 1/3 scoreless innings with four hits and two strikeouts on 87 pitches in a 1-0 Pirates win.
Skenes worked through a quick first inning despite a two-out single by Wade Meckler. He walked a batter with two outs in the second frame, but worked through it unscathed as the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner induced weak contact from his hometown team.
Skenes’ success continued on in the third and fourth as sporadic hits didn’t turn into any damage. Catcher Henry Davis supplied Skenes with a 1-0 lead on a solo home run in the bottom of the third.
Skenes’ velocity isn’t quite where it used to be, but he touched 98+ mph two times and used his sinker effectively.
As his pitch count eclipsed 80 in the fifth, Skenes hit Zach Neto with two outs before Trout hammered a ball into the left-center gap. Neto raced around to score as Oneil Cruz’s throw went to second. Brandon Lowe threw home, cutting down Neto and keeping the Angels scoreless.
Skenes came back out for the sixth and induced a groundout from Meckler before being pulled for Gregory Soto. Soto, combined with Carmen Mlodzinski, Camilo Doval and Mason Montgomery, helped lead the Pirates to their fourth straight series win.