Paul Skenes has now thrown 9.1 scoreless innings. He’s struck out 19 batters in that time. He’s allowed two walks and four hits. What he hasn’t done is pitch much more than three innings per start.
On Friday night, Skenes at least pitched into the fourth inning. Finishing three scoreless frames with 54 pitches and eight strikeouts, Skenes came back out for the fourth inning for the first time this season. The first pitch was a 94.5 MPH splinker, which got a slow 30 foot roller down the third base line, fielded cleanly by catcher Grant Koch for the final out.
Skenes was removed with 55 pitches and 3.1 scoreless frames. Perhaps he could have gone four if he was more efficient in the early innings. His previous two starts had him throwing between 40 and 50 pitches. With Skenes throwing to one batter in the fourth inning at 54 pitches, it stands to reason that he had a limit between 50 and 60 pitches.
The Pirates have been conservative with the usage of Skenes. He’s been firing bullets with the pitches he’s thrown. Out of those 55 pitches on Friday night, 15 were triple-digit fastballs. His fastball averaged 100.3 MPH, and had nine called strikes and two whiffs on 24 pitches. The slider from Skenes picked up six whiffs, and the splinker added four more.
PIRATES PROSPECT WATCH
INDIANAPOLIS lost 4-3 to Toledo in 11 innings. Skenes went 3.1 shutout innings, allowing three hits and a walk. He struck out eight of his ten batters faced.
- CF Ji Hwan Bae went 2-for-3 with a walk in a rehab appearance. Bae was also caught stealing on a night where Indianapolis went 0-for-4.
- 2B Nick Gonzales went 1-for-5 with two strikeouts.
- 3B Sergio Alcantara went 2-for-3 with a walk and a double.
- RHP Carmen Mlodzinski made his first appearance since being sent down. He allowed two runs on two hits, with the damage coming off a two run homer. Mlodzinski also struck out two.
- LHP Brady Feigl pitched in relief of Skenes, going 1.2 scoreless innings. He allowed two hits, no walks, and struck out three.
ALTOONA was postponed due to rain for a second day in a row. Bubba Chandler was the scheduled starter each time out.
GREENSBORO won their suspended game from Thursday 10-0, after leading 9-0 in the fifth when the game was suspended due to rain.
- CF Lonnie White Jr. went 3-for-5, hitting his fourth homer in six games, and falling a triple shy of the cycle. All of the hits were recorded on Thursday.
- RF Sammy Siani went 2-for-4 with a home run, leading him to three of his four RBIs in the game.
- C Shawn Ross hit a solo homer in the third inning to start all of the scoring.
- LHP Hunter Barco pitched four shutout innings, allowing two hits, no walks, and striking out four. Barco didn’t get a chance to pitch beyond the fourth, due to the weather, but has been limited in his early outings.
- RHP Jack Carey resumed the game on Friday, throwing three shutout innings, allowing a walk and a hit, and striking out three.
GREENSBORO lost 2-0 to Winston-Salem in a seven inning game two that saw the Grasshoppers limited to one hit.
- RHP Patrick Reilly struck out six in four innings, allowing two runs on three hits, with one homer allowed. The 2023 fifth rounder was throwing mid-90s, with a good curveball and slider, and an advanced ability to change speeds with the three pitches. He has a 14:1 K/BB in 7.1 innings this year.
- LHP Luis Peralta pitched two perfect innings, striking out five. Peralta has ten strikeouts through his first four innings.
- RF Sammy Siani picked up the lone hit, going 1-for-2 with a walk.
- 2B Charles McAdoo went 0-for-2, but reached base on a walk and picked up his first stolen base of the season.
- DH Termarr Johnson went 0-for-2 with a walk.
BRADENTON lost to Lakeland 7-6 in 10 innings, in a wild back and forth game.
- 1B Omar Alfonzo went 1-for-5 with a two run homer in the first inning. Alfonzo crushed the pitch 436 feet, with a 104.9 MPH exit velocity.
- CF Shalin Polanco went 1-for-4 with a two run homer in the third inning. Polanco’s shot went 412 feet at 105.4 MPH.
- The hardest hit ball of the night from the Marauders was from C Garret Forrester, who went 2-for-5 with a double that was 106.2 MPH off the bat.
- RHP Carlson Reed allowed two runs in three innings, dealing with control issues during the start. Reed walked four, giving up three hits. He struck out four, getting three whiffs each on his sinker, slider, and changeup. The offspeed stuff wasn’t in the zone, and was getting below-average chase.
- RHP Fineas Del Bonta-Smith made a rehab appearance, going 1.2 perfect innings with three strikeouts.
STATCAST HEROES
Every week, I publish a Statcast Heroes article, detailing the top performers of that week. Below are the top performers from last night’s games in Triple-A and Single-A.
INDIANAPOLIS had to deal with Bligh Madris crushing the ball, including a monster homer off Ryder Ryan. The pitches displayed below are the five that Skenes threw 101 or harder. STATS
BRADENTON got some hard hits from their offense, and a good amount of swing and miss from Carlson Reed. STATS
TOMORROW’S SCHEDULE
- Indianapolis plays a double-header at Toledo, starting at 2:35 PM EST. RHP Quinn Priester will be starting game one, entering with a 2.79 ERA after two starts. LHP Cam Alldred will start game two, with a 3.86 ERA.
- Altoona plays a double-header at home, starting at 3:00 PM. RHP Bubba Chandler will finally take the mound, after being delayed for two days. RHP Sean Sullivan will get the game two start.
- Greensboro takes on Winston-Salem on the road at 7:00 PM. RHP J.P. Massey will make his second start of the season.
- Bradenton sends LHP Michael Kennedy to the mound at Lakeland at 6:00 PM. Kennedy is the fourth round pick from the 2022 draft, taken out of the prep ranks and given an over-slot bonus.
