Paul Skenes draws major social media reaction after perfect inning of work at All-Star Game
By Sydney Hunte
Published:
Paul Skenes only pitched the first inning as he started on the mound for the National League in Tuesday’s MLB All-Star Game in Atlanta, but the former LSU star made it a good one.
Skenes dealt a 1-2-3 inning against the American League, striking out Detroit Tigers teammates Gleyber Torres and Riley Greene before forcing the New York Yankees’ Aaron Judge into a groundout to second base.
The Pittsburgh Pirates star was dealing heat, hitting triple digits on 4 of the 15 pitches he threw, including 100.3 on his strikeout pitch of Greene. According to MLB.com’s Sarah Langs, that, plus his 99.7 mph strikeout pitch of Torres, were the fastest strikeout pitches in the pitch-tracking era (since 2008) by a starting pitcher in the All-Star Game:
It’s Skenes’ second All-Star appearance as he made 2024’s Midsummer Classic as a rookie. Skenes started in that one as well, making him just the fifth rookie ever to do so. After getting the first two batters in the first inning, he walked Juan Soto before getting Judge to ground into an inning-ending fielder’s choice.
Fast forward to Skenes’ performance on Tuesday, which drew plenty of social media reaction. Here’s just a sample:
Sydney is an Atlanta-based journalist who has covered everything from SEC and ACC football to MLS, the U.S. men's national soccer team and professional tennis. His work has appeared on such platforms as SB Nation, Cox Media Group and FanSided.
