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New York Post
Umpire fumes at Pirates’ Paul Skenes in heated first-inning scene
By Matt Ehalt,
9 hours ago
Doug Eddings wasn’t going to let Paul Skenes walk all over him.
The umpire made a scene Tuesday night when he took off his mask and yelled toward the Pirates’ rookie ace after Skenes walked off the mound on a borderline pitch thinking he had tallied a strikeout.
Eddings seemingly yelled “outside” toward Skenes before explaining the situation to Pirates manager Derek Shelton in the first inning of the Pirates’ 5-0 win over the Cubs, in which Skenes threw five scoreless innings to improve to 9-2 with a 2.13 ERA.
“He started to walk off the mound like he thinks it’s a strike,” Eddings told Shelton before pointing toward the pitcher and saying, “you talk to him.”
Doug Eddings getting mad at Paul Skenes for walking off like it was a strikeout.
Skenes looks like a kid who just got in trouble in class. 🤣
"He started to walk off the mound like he thinks it's a strike…you talk to him then." pic.twitter.com/itpYZGyxsk
Umpires are not fans of being shown up and pitchers walking off the mound in belief they threw a strike is an easy way to agitate the man behind the plate.
Skenes did just that with two outs and none on in the first when he fired a 99.9-mph fastball in a 2-2 count that missed the corner, although catcher Yasmani Grandal framed the pitch well.
The pitch that led to the interaction between Paul Skenes and umpire Doug Eddings. @PlatniumKey13/X Skenes walked off the mound in belief he had struck out Seiya Suzuki. @PlatniumKey13/X The pitch in question (5) did miss the zone. MLB.com
The former LSU star hopped and took a few steps off the mound toward the dugout before stopping in his tracks.
Grandal held the ball for a second before firing it back.
Skenes smirked after receiving the ball but that smile evaporated when he turned after hearing Eddings, who had intensified the situation by taking off his mask.
Skenes reacts as Eddings yells toward him. @PlatniumKey13/X Eddings saying the pitch missed the zone. @PlatniumKey13/X Eddings explains the situation to Pirates manager Derek Shelton. @PlatniumKey13/X
Shelton and Eddings then had a brief back-and-forth that included Eddings pointing at Skenes, while Shelton pointed back at the umpire.
Play resumed shortly after and Skenes suddenly found himself in a jam.
The batter, Seiya Suzuki, singled on the next pitch before Skenes issued back-to-back walks to load the bases. He induced a fielder’s choice from Nico Hoerner to end the threat.
Skenes cruised from that point forward, bolstering his case for NL Rookie of the Year by collection six strikeouts while scattering four hits over 100 pitches.
Shelton seemingly telling Eddings it falls on him. @PlatniumKey13/X
“That was a tough one,” Skenes said, per MLB.com . “They made me work in the first one. Made me work a little bit last time, too. It’s kind of what they do.”
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