Fastball

Paul Skenes Goes Viral on "X" After Blistering Fastballs Past Shohei Ohtani

Pitching against the Los Angeles Dodgers on Wednesday, Pittsburgh Pirates' pitcher Paul Skenes went viral for striking out both Mookie Betts and Shohei Ohtani in the top of the first inning.
Brady Farkas|
May 29, 2024; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes (30) throws a pitch against the Detroit Tigers in the fifth inning at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Lon Horwedel-USA TODAY Sports
May 29, 2024; Detroit, Michigan, USA; Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes (30) throws a pitch against the Detroit Tigers in the fifth inning at Comerica Park. Mandatory Credit: Lon Horwedel-USA TODAY Sports | Lon Horwedel-USA TODAY Sports

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Pittsburgh Pirates

Pittsburgh Pirates' pitcher Paul Skenes went viral on the internet Wednesday night for absolutely destroying Los Angeles' Dodgers stars Mookie Betts and Shohei Ohtani.

In the top of the first inning, Ohtani struck out both Betts and Ohtani, and people from all over the world of sports couldn't stop talking about it on "X:"

Skenes, the No. 1 pick in the draft in 2023 out of LSU is the most-hyped pitching prospect in baseball since Stephen Strasburg and is the best pitching prospect for the Pirates since Gerrit Cole.

After leading LSU to the national title in 2023, Skenes is 2-0 in his big league career (at the time of this posting) with a 2.25 ERA. His triple-digit fastball is already making baseball history and his starts have already become must-watch around baseball.

He pairs with Jared Jones to make one of the best young duos in all of baseball and they should help anchor the Pirates' rotation for years to come.

The Pirates entered play on Wednesday at 28-32 and with Skenes in the rotation, they should have a chance to hang around the wild card race at least a little longer this season. They finished fourth in the National League Central a season ago.

We'll have more on Skenes's start against the Dodgers on Thursday once we have a fuller picture of how his night ended up. However, with even more 100 MPH fastballs under his belt in the early going of this one, he's already making more history...

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Brady Farkas
BRADY FARKAS

Brady Farkas is a baseball writer for Fastball on Sports Illustrated/FanNation and the host of 'The Payoff Pitch' podcast which can be found on Apple Podcasts and Spotify. Videos on baseball also posted to YouTube. Brady has spent nearly a decade in sports talk radio and is a graduate of Oswego State University. You can follow him on Twitter @WDEVRadioBrady. 

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