PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – We wrote before the game of now Pirates manager Derek Shelton joining the growing case for Paul Skenes to pitch in the All-Star Game. Does Skenes feel he is deserving?
“I don’t know,” Skenes said after giving up two runs and striking out eight in seven innings in a 14-2 Pirates win over the Mets. “I would love to be there, but it’s obviously not my decision to make.”
Skenes wondered if he had enough starts to qualify, this is what manager Derek Shelton said pregame.
"I think he's going to be in the conversation because of the fact that what his record is and what his ERA is and as we know the pitching is determined in a different way,” Shelton said. “It's not like the manager is selecting so it's going to be interesting to see how that all shakes out.”
Skenes said he’ll let everyone else decide if he is worthy. The numbers to date:
10 starts, 5-0, 2.12 ERA, 59.1 innings pitched, 48 hits, 12 walks, 78 strikeouts, 1.01 WHIP.
Shelton mentioned he hoped people were still voting for Bryan Reynolds after what he called his special night including a grand-slam, the game-turning two-run homer and a third career six RBI game. Reynolds then said about Skenes.
“He’s consistent,” Reynolds said. “Just shows up, does his thing and doesn’t get rattled. He just competes. His stuff plays, obviously. He’s special.”
The stage would not bother Skenes. Asked if he would embrace the challenge of facing Yankees All-Star Aaron Judge?
“We play them this year, excited to go there,” Skenes said. “Facing, I don’t even know who the top three in their lineup will be, but Soto and Judge are probably going be there in some way. Probably the best player on another team too. There are no breaks in a lineup like that, you got to be perfect. It will be cool.”
Interesting in Skenes mentality he used the words ‘will be cool’ instead of ‘would be cool’.
Mid-start rebound
Even though he wasn’t as crisp as in previous starts, Skenes found a way to get it going at the end using other pitches Friday night.
"I think he gained momentum, the first couple innings it looked like he was really fast in his delivery and the execution of the fastball wasn't probably as sharp as it's been,” Shelton said. “This is the special thing about him, the ability to go to the slider, go to the other pitches, to be able to get himself back online and I think going to the other pitches got him back online with the fastball and he was able to slow himself down.”
“He just continues to impress because he makes in-game adjustments."
“We got good coaches here,” Skenes said of how he’s able to make the adjustments at 22-years-old. “I think body awareness is big, too. And then self-awareness, too. Because sometimes it's mental, sometimes it's physical. I'm not going to say that I have all of it mastered, but I think we've figured out some stuff over the past year, so, at LSU and now here. So, figured out some stuff that I need to do and pay attention to during the game. So, we got a good routine going."
Skenes also said he learned from an unnamed teammate in AAA who he said had about nine pitches. He said the reason he had nine pitches is so he would never run out. That’s why he focuses on having five pitches because if one is not there, they you put that one aside and pitch with the others. In case of Friday’s game, the fastball wasn’t what he wanted so he moved on to other options.
It was a Pirates bucket hat giveaway on Friday, combined with Skenes pitching led to a 37,037 capacity crowd.
“It was cool,” Skenes said. “I could sense it going out at the beginning of my warmups, just a different buzz. It was probably because of the free T-shirts (hats) they were giving away.”
“We got to do that every day.”
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