Pittsburgh Pirates rookie sensation Paul Skenes will get his first chance to pitch near home when he faces the host Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday. The closest Skenes has pitched this season to nearby Orange County, where he grew up, was at Houston on July 29, when he gave up two runs (one earned) over six innings. On Sunday, Skenes (6-1, 1.
99 ERA) allowed two runs over 5 1/3 innings at home against the Arizona Diamondbacks. He has permitted two runs or fewer in 12 of the first 14 starts of his career. One of the two outings in which he gave up three runs came on June 5 at home against the Dodgers, when he tossed five innings.
The six hits he yielded that day matched a season high. Even though Skenes served up home runs in that game to the Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani and Andy Pages, he still ended the night with a win, the third of his career. The National League's starter in last month's All-Star Game, Skenes has 107 strikeouts in 86 innings.
Typically pinpoint with his control, Skenes has walked a season-high three batters in each of his past two starts, and he threw 100 pitches on Sunday in his shortest outing since June 5. "It's the first time we've really seen him scatter the ball a little bit," Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. The Dodgers will counter with their own rookie, River Ryan (1-0, 1.
72). The right-hander has far less experience than Skenes, with just three starts to his credit since his July 22 debut. In his most recent outing, on Sunday at Oakland, Ryan gave u.