Paul Skenes shines in final start of rookie season, Pirates hit 5 homers to beat Yankees

Paul Skenes made Jazz Chisholm jump back off the plate with an inside fastball that was just a tick shy of triple digits for a called third strike to end the second inning, then walked off the mound wearing a wide smile.

The Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander had a perfect ending to a historic rookie season, retiring all six New York Yankees he faced in throwing 17 of his 23 pitches for strikes over two innings.

Striking out MLB home runs leader Aaron Judge swinging to end the first inning and Chisholm looking punctuated the type of performance that might have sealed National League rookie of the year honors for Skenes, the No. 1 pick of the 2023 MLB Draft.

The Pirates gave Skenes the support he needed, hitting five home runs for a 9-4 win over the AL East champions Saturday afternoon at Yankee Stadium to match their 2023 win total. The Pirates (76-85) will seek a sweep of the Yankees (93-68) in the season finale at 3:05 p.m. Sunday.

“He was outstanding,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said of Skenes on the SportsNet Pittsburgh postgame show. “We knew it was going to be a shorter start, but he went out — this is a really tough lineup — and he executed pitches throughout the first six hitters.”

Skenes finished his first professional season with team bests of a 1.96 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, 170 strikeouts and a .198 batting average against. He pitched a career-high 133 innings over 23 starts, tying for the team lead with 15 quality starts and victories (11). Skenes threw a total of 160 1/3 innings, including 27 1/3 at Triple-A Indianapolis before his May 11 MLB debut.

And Skenes outshined Yankees starter Luis Gil, a 26-year-old righty who is a leading AL rookie of the year candidate. Gil (15-7) allowed a season-high six runs on six hits — including four homers — and one walk with five strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings.

“Definitely glad to be able to finish the season and cool to do it here, cool to do it against this lineup,” Skenes said. “I wish I could keep going, but it’s where we’re at.”

Skenes wasted no time touching triple digits, throwing a 100.3 mph fastball on his fourth pitch to get Yankees leadoff batter Jasson Dominguez to ground out to second.

Then Skenes put on a show against a pair of AL MVP candidates for a rematch of the All-Star Game, when Juan Soto drew a two-out walk before Skenes got Judge to ground into a forceout to end the frame.

Soto, who ranks second only to Judge in on-base percentage, fouled off three of the first four pitches he saw. Then the switch-hitting Soto took a 99.8 mph inside fastball for a called third strike.

That brought to the matchup everyone wanted: the 6-foot-6 Skenes against Judge, the 6-7, 285-pound slugger who entered the game leading the majors with 58 home runs, 144 RBIs and a 1.163 OPS.

Skenes got a pair of called strikes, on a 100.8 mph fastball followed by an 87 mph slider, on his first two pitches. Judge took another 100 mph heater for a ball, then fouled off a 99.5 mph fastball. So Skenes switched it up, going to his breaking ball to get Judge to chase an 86.5 mph sweeper for a strikeout.

“I think he was really looking forward to pitching here,” Pirates catcher Yasmani Grandal said in an on-field postgame interview with SportsNet Pittsburgh. “I’m glad he got the chance to do it. Obviously, he would’ve wanted to go a little bit longer. It seems like the bigger the moment, the better he gets. Our plan of attack was going out there and going right after them. It worked out well.”

The Yankees had no better luck against Skenes in the second inning, which started with an Austin Wells pop up to first baseman Jared Triolo in foul territory. Skenes threw a 99.2 mph fastball that broke Giancarlo Stanton’s bat for a dribbler back to the mound. Chisholm worked a 2-2 count, but Skenes followed an 87 mph changeup with a 99.6 mph fastball inside for another called strike to finish with a flourish.

Meantime, Gil retired the first five batters he faced before Grandal gave the Pirates a 1-0 lead by driving a fastball at the top of the strike zone 347 feet down the right-field line for his ninth home run in the second inning.

After two perfect innings, Skenes was replaced in the third by 24-year-old righty Mike Burrows. A former top-10 prospect before undergoing Tommy John surgery, Burrows (1-0) earned his first MLB victory in his major-league debut by allowing one earned run on two hits, three walks and two strikeouts over 3 1/3 innings.

“That was awesome,” Burrows said of following Skenes. “He’s had such an unbelievable year. Nobody’s more deserving of rookie of the year. He’s an incredible pitcher. I’m glad I could piggyback him today and get a win.”

The Yankees made Burrows work for it. Anthony Rizzo had an 11-pitch at-bat before hitting a sharp grounder to short, where Nick Gonzales made a spectacular backhand stop. Burrows then recorded his first strikeout, getting Oswaldo Cabrera swinging at an 0-2 changeup.

Grandal led off the fifth with a single to right, and Billy Cook hit a two-run shot off Gil to left to give the Pirates a 4-0 lead. It marked Cook’s third homer in 43 at-bats since being promoted Sept. 8.

Chisholm doubled to the right-field corner to score Wells and make it 6-4 in the eighth, ending Pirates reliever Dennis Santana’s streak of 21 consecutive outings without allowing an earned run.

But the Yankees loaded the bases against lefty Jalen Beeks. That prompted the Pirates to turn to Aroldis Chapman to face Judge, who had struck out against four different pitchers in his first four at-bats.

With the Bronx crowd chanting “M-V-P” for Judge, Chapman got Judge to chase a full-count fastball outside for a strikeout, then got Wells to fly out to left to end the game and earn his 14th save.

But the story of the game was Skenes and his grand finale.

“He’s doing things we haven’t seen anybody do,” Shelton said. “Since he’s come up, it’s hard to argue that not only has he been the rookie of the year but one of best pitchers in baseball with the things he’s done. To have a sub-2.00 ERA in his first year, especially in today’s era, that’s pretty special. We’re seeing a guy that’s really elite, has the ability to make pitches and has room for growth — which is fun to be a Pirate fan, if that’s the case.”