Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Paul Skenes has been making noise in his short stint in the majors this season and Wednesday night’s start should draw in even more eyeballs as they welcome the Shohei Ohtani-led Los Angeles Dodgers for Game 2 of a three-game series at PNC Park — but this isn’t the first time Skenes will see two-way phenom in action.
Ohtani, like Skenes, started his career on a strong note. In his first home start on the mound, six years ago with the Los Angeles Angels, he was perfect through the first seven innings. It was a masterclass in pitching while the 15-year-old Skenes watched from the stands.
Recovering from and injured elbow ligament, Ohtani’s pitching skills have been sidelined for the 2024 season. However, his bat clearly has not been affected, as he leads his team in batting average (.321), home runs (14), stolen bases (14) and is even tied with Teoscar Hernández in RBIs (38) while playing in three fewer games than his teammate.
Taken first overall in 2023, Skenes quickly made his way up the ranks and joined his major league team just under a month ago. Bolstering a fastball that routinely hits triple digits, Skenes has showed tremendous potential throughout his first four starts, in which he has landed 30 Ks across 22 innings, earning him an impressive 2.46 ERA to go alongside a 0.91 WHIP.
First pitch between these two sides is set for 6:40 p.m. ET / 3:40 p.m. PT, and can be seen on Sportsnet+.
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