"Absolute joke of a decision" "Classless organization " - Fans furious after Pirates pull Paul Skenes early despite no-hit bid through seven
On Thursday, Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes put on a masterful performance against the Milwaukee Brewers. The exciting pitching prospect went seven innings, giving up zero runs on zero hits, but did have a walk to his name.
That would be as far as the hard-throwing righty would go as he would be pulled following the seventh inning, while he had a no-hitter going.
Fortunately, Pittsburgh scored a run before Skenes was pulled, and the team was able to shut out Milwaukee. They won the game 1-0, but the fanbase has other things on their mind.
They wanted to see the coaching staff keep Skenes in there and allow him to try and close the game out. Instead, they are left wondering what could have been.
"Absolute joke of a decision" - said a fan.
"Classless organization" - said another.
"Should be considered a crime" - said another.
Pitchers being pulled while amidst a no-hitter has become a growing trend over the last few seasons. With pitchers typically lasting just six or seven innings, managers have opted to save their pitcher's arms.
"Let the kid make history" - said another.
"Baseball has killed baseball" - said another.
"Nah. That's weak" - said another.
While Skenes is one of the top pitching prospects in the game, there is no telling if or when he may have another shot at a no-hitter.
Pirates ace Paul Skenes has been more than impressive
MLB prospects come into the league with a ton of expectations that may be hard to achieve. The jump from the minors to the big leagues is a big one that can trip up even the best.
However, Paul Skenes has been spectacular since his arrival to the Pirates organization and exceeds expectations. He became the first player to become an All-Star during the same year that he was drafted.
After his Thursday start, he made more history. While striking out 11 and giving up no hits, he became the second pitcher to have multiple states of six or more innings with 11 or more strikeouts.
There were a few that were not sold on Skenes when he originally came up. His performance against the Brewers makes it tough not to believe in the youngster.