Paul Skenes vs. Shohei Ohtani is the kind of matchup that can sell an entire game. He more than lived up to the billing of him in Wednesday’s game between the Los Angeles Dodgers and the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Skenes took the mound against the NL West-leading Dodgers for his fifth career start and started on a dominant note, striking out Mookie Betts on four pitches. He then confronted Ohtani, and what happened next can only be described as violence.
First pitch: Strike swinging at 101.3 mph.
Second pitch: 100.1 mph swinging strike (foul tipped).
Third pitch: Strike swinging at 100.8 mph.
You may never see Ohtani as overmatched as he did here.
Skenes proceeded to throw out Freddie Freeman with a fly ball to end the inning.
The Skenes-Ohtani rematch came in the third inning, with the Pirates up 7-0 after a disastrous inning for Dodgers starter James Paxton. Skenes got another strike with a 99.6 fastball on the first pitch and then ran the count to the max.
Having gotten five strikes on six fastballs for Ohtani so far, Skenes switched back to the fastball for the pay pitch. Ohtani was ready for it, sending it 415 feet toward the batter’s eye in center field.
By Sarah Langs of MLB.comThat 100.1 mph fastball was the fastest pitch Ohtani has hit a home run with in his career.
Ohtani also won the third round, throwing a 98.1 mph fastball for a one-out single in the fifth inning. Skenes finished his day with five innings pitched, three earned runs, six hits, one walk and eight strikeouts.
This is fun baseball, possibly for no one more than Skenes. While he is currently known as a flame-throwing monster on the mound, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 MLB Draft was once known for his own two-way abilities as a hitter and pitcher. While in the Air Force, he won the John Olerud Award as the nation’s top two-way player in 2022 before transferring to LSU and focusing on pitching.
As the he told MLB.com’s Alex Stumpfidolized Ohtani during the stretch of his career:
“I grew up watching it,” Skenes said. “As a two-way guy, that’s what he was trying to be before he got drafted. “He was an inspiration in many ways.”
He got to see a side of that talent up close and personal on Wednesday, with mixed results.