Paul Skenes’ already amazing season continues to become even more impressive.
The Pittsburgh Pirates rookie — also the All-Star Game starter for the National League — tallied the 100th strikeout of his nascent major-league career in Monday’s matchup with the Houston Astros. The milestone whiff occurred in the second inning, with Skenes getting Jon Singleton swinging on an 88 mph changeup.
A big, round number like 100 is notable enough for a rookie pitcher. But Skenes is a phenom, and how quickly he reached 100 strikeouts is what makes his achievement special.
As the Pirates shared on social media, Skenes is just the sixth pitcher since the pitching mound was set 60 feet, 6 inches away from home plate in 1893 to reach 100 strikeouts in 13 or fewer games.
This embedded content is not available in your region.
(Prior to 1893, pitchers threw from a distance that increased several times since baseball’s origins in 1845, beginning at 45 feet before moving to 55 feet, 6 inches, as MLB.com’s Anthony Castrovince explained.)
Put another way, Skenes is the sixth pitcher since 1901 to compile 100 strikeouts in his first 13 career starts, according to MLB.com’s Sarah Langs.
Paul Skenes is the 6th pitcher with 100+ strikeouts in his 1st 13 career app (since at least 1901), joining:
1995 Hideo Nomo: 119
1998 Kerry Wood: 118
1955 Herb Score: 107
1983 Jose DeLeon: 106
2014 Masahiro Tanaka: 103 https://t.co/sbuSNmLApF— Sarah Langs (@SlangsOnSports) July 30, 2024
Skenes finished his outing Monday by pitching six innings with six strikeouts, five hits, three walks and two runs allowed (one earned). The right-hander lowered his ERA to 1.90 on the season with 103 strikeouts in 80 2/3 innings.
