Paul Skenes receives standing ovation from Cardinals fans

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes received a standing ovation from St. Louis Cardinals fans on Tuesday. 

After pitching 6 1/3 scoreless innings on the mound at Busch Stadium, Skenes was removed for relief pitcher Aroldis Chapman. On his way to the dugout, the Cardinals fans in attendance stood up and applauded Skenes’ work. Skenes allowed five hits, struck out eight and walked zero batters with 103 pitches for the Pirates. 

Pittsburgh won the game 2-1. 

Tuesday’s outing was just another sensational effort from the 22-year-old rookie pitcher. Heading into the game against the Cardinals, Skenes had a 3.00 ERA through five starts, tallying 38 strikeouts. In those five starts, Skenes allowed 21 hits and walked six batters. 

According to MLB researcher Sarah Langs, Skenes has thrown 60 MLB pitches at 100-plus miles per hour this season. 

Skenes was called up by the Pirates on May 9. The pitcher came to Pittsburgh after dominating during his time with Triple-A Indianapolis.

Skenes was drafted No. 1 overall by the Pirates in last July’s draft. He signed a contract with Pittsburgh that included a record $9.2 million signing bonus.