Paul Skenes strikes out 9 to set rookie club record, Pirates hold on to beat Marlins

Paul Skenes took care of business right away, breaking the franchise mark for most strikeouts by a rookie pitcher that stood for nine decades by fanning the second batter he faced.

The Pittsburgh Pirates phenom then tried to put the record out of reach.

Skenes had nine strikeouts and allowed one run in six innings, turning in another dominant performance as the Pirates beat the Marlins, 3-2, in their three-game series opener Monday night in front of 10,311 at PNC Park.

It was the sixth time this season that Skenes, the No. 1 overall pick of the 2023 MLB Draft, recorded nine or more strikeouts. The 6-foot-6 right-hander tied Mitch Keller for the team lead with 14 quality starts (out of 20) while lowering his ERA to a team-best 2.10.

“I think that’s the goal of every starting pitcher, right? Just to put the team in the best position possible to win,” Skenes said. “That’s what I’m trying to do every outing. Definitely good to be able to actually be doing that.”

Skenes improved his record to 10-2, an outdated statistic in the analytics age but one he still cares about.

“I think that’s the goal every year,” Skenes said. “I’m old-fashioned. Wins matter. Wins and losses matter, I think. That’s kind of watered down now, but it definitely means a lot.”

With his strikeout of Marlins rookie Connor Norby, Skenes passed Cy Blanton’s record of 143 strikeouts by a Pirates rookie that was set in 1935. Skenes now has 151 strikeouts, with the possibility of increasing that total in his final starts this season.

“I think that just goes to the quality of how his stuff is,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. “This kid’s got elite stuff, and he’s going to strike out a lot of people throughout his career.”

And Skenes did it in style, getting Norby swinging at an elevated 100.1 mph fastball in the first inning, one of six times he topped triple digits. Skenes averaged 98.8 mph with his four-seamer, throwing it on 40 of his 98 pitches compared to 24 splinkers, 14 changeups and 14 sliders.

“I think we were using it well, and then I was executing it well,” Skenes said of his fastball, “and it showed.”

The Pirates provided early run support, as Oneil Cruz crushed Valente Bellozo’s 1-2 fastball 444 feet to the batter’s eye in center for his 19th home run — and first since moving to center field — with two outs in the first inning to give the Pirates a 1-0 lead.

The Pirates extended it in the second. Alika Williams reached on a two-out throwing error by shortstop Xavier Edwards, Nick Gonzales singled and Bryan Reynolds hit a two-run single to make it 3-0.

The Marlins scored against Skenes in the fourth, when Jesus Sanchez hit a leadoff double, and Otto Lopez hit a two-out single to right to cut it to 3-1. Skenes got Kyle Stowers out on a foul tip with a 99.7 mph fastball to end the frame. In the fifth, Skenes walked Nick Fortes and gave up a single to Edwards to put runners on first and second.

Then he got Norby to ground into a 5-4-6 double play involving three of his fellow rookies. Third baseman Jared Triolo threw to second base to beat Edwards for the forceout, and Gonzales fired it to shortstop Williams covering third to get Fortes. Skenes then got Jake Burger to ground into a forceout at second to prevent further damage.

“I’ve never seen a double play like that. That was pretty sweet,” Skenes said. “That was just a really good baseball play. Knowing where to be at the right time, knowing what to do. It helped me out a ton. Executing that pitch and then to get the help like that was awesome.”

Skenes struck out Sanchez and Jonah Bride in the sixth before getting Griffin Conine to ground out to first then walking off the field to a standing ovation.

The Pirates got scoreless innings of relief from Colin Holderman and Dennis Santana in the seventh and eighth, respectively. The Marlins rallied in the ninth against Aroldis Chapman, who gave up a leadoff single to Sanchez, walked pinch hitter Javier Sanoja and gave up an RBI double to left to Christian Pache that cut it to 3-2.

But Chapman recovered to get Fortes to fly out to right for the final out and his seventh save.

That allowed Skenes to savor his exit even more.

“It’s pretty dang cool every time,” Skenes said. “Just keep showing up for the games and the goal is to keep giving them moments like that.”