Current:Home > InvestPaul Skenes blew away Shohei Ohtani in their first meeting. The two-time MVP got revenge. -NextFrontier Finance
Paul Skenes blew away Shohei Ohtani in their first meeting. The two-time MVP got revenge.
View
Date:2025-04-14 21:23:32
Paul Skenes and Shohei Ohtani exchanged greetings on the baseball field in a manner befitting the hardest-throwing phenom and the greatest two-way talent in the game.
Skenes, the Pittsburgh Pirates rookie making his fifth career start, blew away Ohtani on three pitches — 101.3, 100.1 and 100.8 mph — that the Los Angeles Dodgers star swung and whiffed at in their first encounter Wednesday night at PNC Park.
But the two-time MVP didn't need more than two tries to welcome Skenes to the big leagues.
Ohtani turned around a 100-mph fastball in the third inning, sending it 415 feet and over the fence in straightaway center field for his 15th home run, showing the rookie that it's not so easy to slip pure heat by the Dodgers DH.
Yet it's one of a precious few mistakes Skenes made in Wednesday's 10-6 triumph, as he picked up his third win in five outings, striking out eight Dodgers in five innings.
Follow every MLB game: Latest MLB scores, stats, schedules and standings.
Oh, Ohtani got him again, singling to right in the fifth to put two runners on in a 7-3 game. But Ohtani's single was sandwiched by Skenes punchouts against the other MVPs in L.A.'s lineup. He caught Mookie Betts looking on a full-count 100-mph fastball on the outside corner, and Freddie Freeman on a 0-2 fastball that dotted the bottom of the zone at 99 mph.
After a Will Smith single loaded the bases, Skenes induced a groundout from Teoscar Hernandez and exited with a 7-3 lead. The Pirates went on to claim their second consecutive win over the NL West-leading Dodgers.
Skenes is still less than a year removed from the Pirates selecting him No. 1 overall from LSU, yet his resume remains nearly spotless. He has 38 strikeouts in 27 innings pitched and a 3.00 ERA, and the Pirates are 4-1 in his starts. He walked just one on Wednesday, bringing his strikeout-to-walk ratio to 38-to-6.
Now, add another bullet point to that list: A split decision against the game's greatest talent.
veryGood! (652)
Related
- Justice Department, Louisville reach deal after probe prompted by Breonna Taylor killing
- Students in Indonesia protest the growing numbers of Rohingya refugees in Aceh province
- Burning Man survived a muddy quagmire. Will the experiment last 30 more years?
- Disney says in lawsuit that DeSantis-appointed government is failing to release public records
- Video shows dog chewing cellphone battery pack, igniting fire in Oklahoma home
- Disney says in lawsuit that DeSantis-appointed government is failing to release public records
- Nikki Haley has bet her 2024 bid on South Carolina. But much of her home state leans toward Trump
- Widower of metro Phoenix’s ex-top prosecutor suspected of killing 2 women before taking his own life
- Scoot flight from Singapore to Wuhan turns back after 'technical issue' detected
- Biden Administration Takes Historic Step to Protect Old-Growth Forest
Ranking
- NHL in ASL returns, delivering American Sign Language analysis for Deaf community at Winter Classic
- Turkey hits 70 sites linked to Kurdish groups in Syria and Iraq in retaliation for soldiers’ deaths
- Students at now-closed Connecticut nursing school sue state officials, say they’ve made things worse
- Biden orders strikes on an Iranian-aligned group after 3 US troops wounded in drone attack in Iraq
- Kylie Jenner Shows Off Sweet Notes From Nieces Dream Kardashian & Chicago West
- Almcoin Trading Center: The Development Prospects of the North American Cryptocurrency Market
- A top Brazilian criminal leader is isolated in prison after he negotiated his own arrest
- Fantasy football Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em: 15 players to start or sit in NFL Week 17
Recommendation
DoorDash steps up driver ID checks after traffic safety complaints
Man trapped for 6 days in wrecked truck in Indiana rescued after being spotted by passersby
A Greek air force training jet crashes outside a southern base and search is underway for the pilot
Photographer Cecil Williams’ vision gives South Carolina its only civil rights museum
Spooky or not? Some Choa Chu Kang residents say community garden resembles cemetery
Mexico’s army-run airline takes to the skies, with first flight to the resort of Tulum
Next year will be the best year to buy a new car since 2019, economist says
Want to run faster? It comes down to technique, strength and practice.