Pirates' Paul Skenes Reaches Another Incredible Milestone
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PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Pirates right-handed starting pitcher Paul Skenes has performed exceptionally well in 2025 and set a new personal achievement in his latest outing.
Skenes threw five strikeouts in the first three innings vs. the Baltimore Orioles at Camden Yards on Sept. 10, making it to 200 strikeouts on the season. He struck out Orioles first baseman Coby Mayo with an 84 mph sweeper low in the strike zone for that 200th strikeout.
No. 200 for Skenes pic.twitter.com/uPfxuALfmS
— Alex Stumpf (@AlexJStumpf) September 10, 2025
Skenes becomes the sixth Pirates pitcher that reached at least 200 strikeouts in a single season in the live ball era (since 1920), with fellow teammate and right-handed starting pitcher Mitch Keller doing so in 2023 with 210 strikeouts.
Left-handed pitcher Bob Veale did it four times in the 1960s, with 213 strikeouts in 1969, 229 strikeouts in 1966, 250 strikeouts in 1964 and 276 strikeouts in 1965.
Fellow left-handed pitcher Oliver Perez threw 239 strikeouts in 2004, right-handed pitcher A.J. Burnett posted 209 strikeouts in 2013, left-handed pitcher Francisco Liriano posted 205 strikeouts and right-handed pitcher Gerrit Cole posted 203 strikeouts, both in 2015.
Those 200 strikeouts for Skenes puts him at fourth in the MLB, just behind San Francisco Giants left-handed pitcher Logan Webb with 201 strikeouts in fourth, Detroit Tigers left-handed pitcher Tarik Skubal with 222 strikeouts in second and then Boston Red Sox left-handed pitcher Garrett Crochet with 228 strikeouts to lead the MLB.
Skenes set a season-high of 10 strikeouts against the Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park on July 5, doing so in just five innings of work.
He has posted nine strikeouts four times, eight strikeouts six times, seven strikeouts five times, six strikeouts eight times and five strikeouts once. Only four of his starts have seen him post a season-low of four strikeouts.
His 170 strikeouts as a rookie in 2024 give him 370 strikeouts in his career, which place him 70th all-time in Pirates history.
Skenes came into this most recent start with the lowest ERA in baseball, below 2.00, and has the metrics that put him at the forefront in the National League Cy Young Award Race.
Dominic writes for Pittsburgh Pirates On SI, Pittsburgh Panthers Pn SI and also, Pittsburgh Steelers On SI. A Pittsburgh native, Dominic grew up watching Pittsburgh Sports and wrote for The Pitt News as an undergraduate at the University of Pittsburgh, covering Pitt Athletics. He would write for Pittsburgh Sports Now after college and has years of experience covering sports across Pittsburgh.