Pittsburgh Pirates phenom Paul Skenes showcased why he's heralded as one of the most exciting young pitchers in all of baseball during Tuesday's start against the St. Louis Cardinals.
Skenes tossed 6 1/3 scoreless innings during the NL Central showdown at Busch Stadium, striking out eight Cardinals batters while surrendering just five hits and no walks. Although he won't be credited with a decision for his stellar start, having exited the game in a 0–0 deadlock, fans in St. Louis made sure to show their respect to the 22-year-old.
As Skenes departed the mound, he was treated to a standing ovation from the home crowd, despite holding their team off the scoreboard for over six frames.
Cardinals fans gave Paul Skenes a standing ovation pic.twitter.com/XOZptXmfub
Talk about the ultimate sign of respect.
The Pirates and Cardinals are division rivals, and it seems that fans in St. Louis are quickly coming to terms with the fact that they'll be seeing plenty of Skenes as he flourishes into a Cy Young candidate. Rather than boo him after his strong performance against their team, they took the high road, opting to tip their caps to the flame-throwing right-hander.
Skenes lowered his season ERA to 2.43 after Tuesday's start, the sixth of his MLB career. He's fanned 46 batters in 33 1/3 innings, surrendering just 21 hits and six walks.
KARL RASMUSSEN
