Paul Skenes makes MLB history as he tops 200 K’s for Pittsburgh Pirates
By Luke Greco
Published:
Former LSU star and College World Series champion Paul Skenes is rewriting the history books in the MLB.
On Wednesday, Skenes added his 200th strikeout to his historic season. Skenes went 5 complete innings against the Baltimore Orioles, allowing just 2 hits and 0 earned runs. Skenes struck out 8 in his appearance and earned his 200th of the season in the bottom of the third. The Pirates would go on to lose to the Orioles 2-1.
It’s just the 12th time a pitcher for the Pirates has earned 200 strikeouts in a season, and Skenes becomes the eighth player to ever do it. Ed Morris (twice), Bob Veale (4 times), Oliver Perez, Mitch Keller, AJ Burnett, Francisco Lariano, Gerrit Cole, and now Skenes are the only players to complete this accomplishment in their time with the Pirates.
Skenes, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft, is having a historic start to his career for the Pirates. His career ERA through 52 starts is the lowest ever for the live ball era at 1.97, per the Pirates. The next closest is Vida Blue with a 2.07 ERA. Skenes is also the only player since 1901 to have 350+ strikeouts and a sub-2.00 ERA through 53 career games.
Skenes is in his second year of his MLB career, and in each of the two seasons, Skenes has posted a sub-2.00 ERA, averaged 10.00+ K/9, and started the All-Star Game, per OptaSTATS.
Skenes is on a historic run to start his MLB career, and he is rewriting history books along the way.
