Current:Home > InvestPaul Skenes blew away Shohei Ohtani in their first meeting. The two-time MVP got revenge. -Nova Finance Academy
Paul Skenes blew away Shohei Ohtani in their first meeting. The two-time MVP got revenge.
View
Date:2025-04-14 21:05:13
Paul Skenes and Shohei Ohtani exchanged greetings on the baseball field in a manner befitting the hardest-throwing phenom and the greatest two-way talent in the game.
Skenes, the Pittsburgh Pirates rookie making his fifth career start, blew away Ohtani on three pitches — 101.3, 100.1 and 100.8 mph — that the Los Angeles Dodgers star swung and whiffed at in their first encounter Wednesday night at PNC Park.
But the two-time MVP didn't need more than two tries to welcome Skenes to the big leagues.
Ohtani turned around a 100-mph fastball in the third inning, sending it 415 feet and over the fence in straightaway center field for his 15th home run, showing the rookie that it's not so easy to slip pure heat by the Dodgers DH.
Yet it's one of a precious few mistakes Skenes made in Wednesday's 10-6 triumph, as he picked up his third win in five outings, striking out eight Dodgers in five innings.
Follow every MLB game: Latest MLB scores, stats, schedules and standings.
Oh, Ohtani got him again, singling to right in the fifth to put two runners on in a 7-3 game. But Ohtani's single was sandwiched by Skenes punchouts against the other MVPs in L.A.'s lineup. He caught Mookie Betts looking on a full-count 100-mph fastball on the outside corner, and Freddie Freeman on a 0-2 fastball that dotted the bottom of the zone at 99 mph.
After a Will Smith single loaded the bases, Skenes induced a groundout from Teoscar Hernandez and exited with a 7-3 lead. The Pirates went on to claim their second consecutive win over the NL West-leading Dodgers.
Skenes is still less than a year removed from the Pirates selecting him No. 1 overall from LSU, yet his resume remains nearly spotless. He has 38 strikeouts in 27 innings pitched and a 3.00 ERA, and the Pirates are 4-1 in his starts. He walked just one on Wednesday, bringing his strikeout-to-walk ratio to 38-to-6.
Now, add another bullet point to that list: A split decision against the game's greatest talent.
veryGood! (1)
Related
- Trump invites nearly all federal workers to quit now, get paid through September
- Want to Elect Climate Champions? Here’s How to Tell Who’s Really Serious About Climate Change
- Warming Trends: Americans’ Alarm Grows About Climate Change, a Plant-Based Diet Packs a Double Carbon Whammy, and Making Hay from Plastic India
- Inside Clean Energy: The Right and Wrong Lessons from the Texas Crisis
- Nearly 400 USAID contract employees laid off in wake of Trump's 'stop work' order
- Line 3 Drew Thousands of Protesters to Minnesota This Summer. Last Week, Enbridge Declared the Pipeline Almost Finished
- The Biden Administration’s Embrace of Environmental Justice Has Made Wary Activists Willing to Believe
- California will cut ties with Walgreens over the company's plan to drop abortion pills
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Hi Hi!
- Inside Eminem and Hailie Jade Mathers' Private Father-Daughter Bond
Ranking
- Meet first time Grammy nominee Charley Crockett
- The value of good teeth
- 12-year-old girl charged in acid attack against 11-year-old at Detroit park
- We found the 'missing workers'
- Finally, good retirement news! Southwest pilots' plan is a bright spot, experts say
- Chris Martin and Dakota Johnson's Love Story Is Some Fairytale Bliss
- The West Sizzled in a November Heat Wave and Snow Drought
- Doctors created a primary care clinic as their former hospital struggled
Recommendation
Most popular books of the week: See what topped USA TODAY's bestselling books list
A Deep Dive Gone Wrong: Inside the Titanic Submersible Voyage That Ended With 5 Dead
See Landon Barker's Mom Shanna Moakler Finally Meet Girlfriend Charli D'Amelio in Person
Fox Corp CEO praises Fox News leader as network faces $1.6 billion lawsuit
Stamford Road collision sends motorcyclist flying; driver arrested
5 DeSantis allies now control Disney World's special district. Here's what's next
How Does a Utility Turn a Net-Zero Vision into Reality? That’s What They’re Arguing About in Minnesota
TikTok to limit the time teens can be on the app. Will safeguards help protect them?