Pirates rookie ace Skenes named All-Star starter
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Rookie sensation
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Patrick asked Lovullo, “Is Paul on a pitch count?”
Lovullo replied with laughter.
“We’ll see what’s going on there. We’ve got 11 guys to get there. Paul’s going to throw up a big zero in the first inning for us and we’ll take it from there,” Lovullo said.
Skenes improved to 6-0 with a 1.90 ERA when he tossed seven no-hit innings with 11 strikeouts in a 1-0 win Thursday at Milwaukee.
The 6-foot-6 Skenes made his MLB debut on May 11 and has struck out 89 batters with 13 walks across 66⅓ innings this season. He has the most punchouts with a sub-2.00 ERA through 11 starts since ERA became an official statistic in 1913, according to ESPN Stats & Information.
He becomes just the fifth rookie pitcher to start the All-Star Game — the first in nearly 30 years. He joins Hideo Nomo (1995), Fernando Valenzuela (1981), Mark Fidrych (1976) and Dave Stenhouse (1962).
Skenes’ odds to win National League Rookie of the Year moved from -350 to -600 at ESPN BET after Thursday’s start. His Cy Young odds moved from 30-1 to +650, the third-shortest odds in the market at ESPN BET.
Skenes is also the first Pirates pitcher to start the Midsummer Classic since Jerry Reuss in 1975.
Information from ESPN’s Jesse Rogers and Field Level Media was used in this report.
