Skenes tops 100 mph 17 times in MLB debut

PITTSBURGH — The moment hardly looked too big for Paul Skenes.

The top-ranked pitching prospect in baseball had a promising major league debut for the Pirates, working into the fifth inning against the Cubs on Saturday while offering a glimpse of what may be to come.

Skenes was charged with three runs in four-plus innings. He struck out seven, throwing 17 pitches of 100 mph or more. He also walked two and gave up a homer to Nico Hoerner in the fourth that just reached the first row of bleachers beyond the left-field wall.

As he walked off the field, the mustachioed 21-yearold received a loud ovation from a near-sellout crowd that included his more-famous girlfriend, LSU gymnast and social media influencer Livvy Dunne.

Skenes became the first Pirates pitcher aged 21 or younger to record at least seven strikeouts in his major league debut since Nick Maddox fanned 11 against the Cardinals in 1907 — 95 years before Skenes was born.

The Pirates teased Skenes’ call-up on Wednesday after he breezed through seven starts at Triple-A Indianapolis. His arrival gave PNC Park a playoff-like atmosphere, or at least as much as it can feel like the playoffs in mid-May for a team that hasn’t reached the postseason since 2015.

Fans lined up two and three deep behind the Pirates’ bullpen beyond the center field fence to try and catch some of Skenes’ pregame routine. Nearby, the team store under the left field bleachers did a brisk business, with some ponying up $200 for jerseys with Skenes’ No. 30 stitched on the back.