MLB Rookie Ace Makes Incredible History In Second Career Start
usatsi_23301703
Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes has gotten his MLB career off on the right foot.
In just his second career start, Skenes, the No. 1 overall pick of the 2023 MLB Draft, pitched six hitless innings while striking out 11 of the 19 Cubs batters he faced.
Per Stathead, Skenes, 21, became the youngest player in MLB history with at least six innings pitched, 11 strikeouts, no hits allowed and one walk or less in an outing.
Hall of Famer Catfish Hunter was the previous youngest to compile those stats when he threw a perfect game against the Twins in 1968 at 22 years and 30 days old.
Skenes is also just the 25th pitcher all-time to put up the numbers he did on Friday, further illustrating how rare his dominant performance was.
Through two starts, Skenes has a 2.70 earned run average and 18 strikeouts in 10 innings pitched.