NO ONE was happy when Paul Skenes was not allowed to finish an unsuccessful bid on Thursday.
Many starters don’t get the chance to finish off their no-hitters these days, but Skenes was working on an extra-special one.
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Few players can say they pitched a no-hitter in their rookie year, and Skenes was seven innings into his attempt to pitch one.
He threw 99 pitches that day, but Pittsburgh Pirates manager Derek Shelton decided that was enough.
Skenes showed no signs of tiring, but the Pirates didn’t want to risk anything with their rookie star.
It may have been the right decision, but no one was happy about Skenes’ withdrawal, especially radio host Zach Gelb.
“They took him out? No! Are you serious? They took him out of the game?” Gelb asked.
“This is unbearable. This is terrible. 99 pitches, he just had — stop. He only had six pitches to get to the bottom of the seventh.
“He pitched 107 against the Mets. And this guy, who is the biggest draw right now in Major League Baseball, do you cut him?
“Oh, that’s terrible. This is Major League Baseball’s problem. Screw the numbers.
“Screw analysis. Stop! Ugh. Derek Shelton, Ben Cherington, I hate you; I despise you. Everyone is watching; everyone is loving this.
“He’s got no hits. He’s been sensational in his first 11 games. He’s going to the damn All-Star game. And this guy has no hits, and you take him out? You’re not kidding me? They actually took him out of the game. ?
“This is rubbish. This is rubbish. Terrible… This is just pathetic.”
Even Skenes’ girlfriend, Olivia Dunne, chimed in, saying she wanted him to stay home.
However, she understood the reason for eliminating him.
“You know what, it would have been a nice compliment to say you didn’t get a hit your rookie year,” she said.
“But you also have to make that arm last a long time, so I don’t blame them.”
Skenes himself made it clear he wanted to stay in the game, but also said he understood why the decision was made.
“I definitely wanted to finish,” Skenes said.
“Playing every six days, five days, whatever it is now, I definitely understand that side of it.”
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This story originally appeared on The-sun.com read the full story
