Paul Skenes Made More Baseball History in Domination of Los Angeles Dodgers This Week

Skenes bested Yoshinobu Yamamoto on Friday night in a pitchers duel, also getting the best of Shohei Ohtani.

Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Paul Skenes (30) reacts after striking out Los Angeles Dodgers second baseman Tommy Edman (25) to end the sixth inning at Dodger Stadium on April 25. / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Pittsburgh Pirates ace starting pitcher Paul Skenes made baseball history on Friday night when he dominated the Los Angeles Dodgers at Dodger Stadium.

Skenes, the reigning National League Rookie of the Year, moved to 3-2 as the Pirates won 3-0. He went 6.1 innings, surrendering no runs on five hits. He walked none and struck out nine, lowering his ERA to 2.39 for the year.

Per Joe Block of the Pirates broadcast team on social media:

Paul Skenes has a career Road ERA of 1.24

It is the lowest thru the first 14 starts of any pitcher's career in MLB history, since ER were tracked in 1912-13

(via @OptaSTATS)

Paul Skenes has a career Road ERA of 1.24

It is the lowest thru the first 14 starts of any pitcher's career in MLB history, since ER were tracked in 1912-13

(via @OptaSTATS)

— Joe Block (@joe_block) April 26, 2025

The 22-year-old finished third in the National League Cy Young Award voting last season and will have a case for the award this year if he stays healthy. The former No. 1 pick in the draft (2023), Skenes is armed with a 100-MPH fastball and a mid-90s "splinker."

In an ideal world, he will pair with Jared Jones to make one of the best duos in the National League, but Jones is currently sidelined with a UCL sprain.

Top prospect Bubba Chandler is also expected to make his debut this season, giving the Pirates three young and controllable starters to build around.

Of course, the hope is that the Pirates' ownership will actually build around them. Pittsburgh has been frugal over the last several offseasons, not doing much to aid the current in-house talent.

The Pirates will finish out the series in LA on Sunday.

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