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.
“You can't prepare for the game as a fan. So, it truly is an honor to compete against [Trout]. It's an honor to compete against everybody else on the field too,” Skenes said postgame. “Growing up an Angels fan, it's pretty cool, and he's pretty much the only one around from when I was growing up and watching.”
Skenes said he didn’t prepare for the matchup with Trout any differently. He did, however, wish he pitched on Friday on the first day of the series rather than during the finale on Sunday, so he could be more of a fan in the dugout.
When he had a chance to reflect on facing his favorite team after the victory, Skenes said it was “pretty cool.”
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. He couldn’t quite execute strikeout pitches, which moved his pitch count up.
“If balls were landing, it would probably be a little bit harder,” Skenes said. “But they weren't really landing, so they were making plays behind me. Strikeouts are a little cooler than a ground ball somewhere, but at the end of the day, an out is an out. So, just gotta take it and move on to the next guy.”
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. Pirates manager Don Kelly explained they didn’t want to push Skenes much further as he neared 90 pitches. Soto, combined with Carmen Mlodzinski, Camilo Doval and Mason Montgomery, helped lead the Pirates to their fourth straight series win.
Skenes felt his outing was “pretty good all around,” inducing weak contact and getting ahead of hitters. His 10th win came in a must-win spot for Pittsburgh. A series loss to the Angels, who own MLB’s worst record, would almost unofficially end the Pirates' (71-73) postseason hopes.
Instead, it kept Pittsburgh afloat heading into a season-defining road trip to face the White Sox and Cubs.
“Just trying to keep the line moving,” Skenes said. “We played two good series here. Set ourselves up for a couple good series in Chicago, and take it one game at a time. We're going to end up wherever we're supposed to, as long as we play our game. So we have a good opportunity, and just got to take advantage of it.”