Shohei Ohtani vs. Paul Skenes lives up to the hype: ‘This is why we play… for matchups like this’

PITTSBURGH – When it became clear that Pirates rookie right-hander Paul Skenes would make his fifth career big league start against the Dodgers, it was natural to circle the game on the calendar as a definitive must-win game.

No matter who’s on the mound, the Dodgers’ first innings have become something of an event in themselves, considering the three MVPs at the top of the lineup: Mookie Betts, Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman. And with each Skenes start early in his career looking equally important, it was a perfect storm of regular-season intrigue, setting up Wednesday’s contest to be a little more special than a normal weekday game in June.

As the first pitch approached, the buzz grew among the PNC Park crowd, eager to witness Skenes showcase his talent against three of the best hitters on the planet.

But it’s still baseball. Many discouraging results can come from any individual plaque appearance; Grand visions of epic strikeouts or titanic home runs punctuating matchups between top-tier talent rarely come to fruition. Pitting two of the game’s best against each other cannot guarantee a memorable result, it only sets the stage for one.

But when do the stars align and do the results of these heightened appearances match the supersonic talent on stage? You have to appreciate it when it happens.

Skenes’ first pitch to Betts on Wednesday was a 100 mph fastball in the bottom of the zone for strike one. His second offering was a 100 mph fastball to the top of the zone, which Betts unhappily passed through for the second strike. Two pitches later, Betts hit a slider for strike three. The crowd erupted, not realizing it was just an appetizer for what was to come next.

In less than a minute of real time, Skenes threw three consecutive triple-digit fastballs and blew three consecutive whiffs on three spectacularly intense strikes from Ohtani. The stadium erupted with excitement once again as Ohtani staggered back to the dugout in a daze, contemplating the high-octane shootout he had just lost in emphatic fashion.

The first round went to Skenes, who turned 22 last week.

While everyone in the stadium would probably have loved to immediately move on to the next Skenes/Ohtani at-bat, the rematch was slightly delayed. The Pirates attacked Dodgers starter James Paxton, forcing him out after recording just five strikeouts. When Ohtani reached base in the third inning nearly 50 minutes later, Skenes had a 7-0 lead. With the home fans enjoying a comfortable cushion, the crowd refocused on how Skenes would attack Ohtani in the second round.

Once again, Skenes greeted Ohtani at 100 mph, and again, Ohtani swung with significant intent to cause damage, but to no avail. After Ohtani was unfazed by two changes outside the zone for balls one and two, Skenes went back to basics: 99.5 mph above the zone, drawing another vicious, helpless swing from Ohtani for strike two. Another 100mph heater followed, on the inside of the plate for ball three, producing an always attractive full count.

Having already thrown an astonishing five strikes on five fastballs from one of the most dangerous fastball hitters of this generation, Skenes retreated once again. He reached 160.1 mph at the top of the strike zone. A towering ball immediately went out to center field, flying over the 10-foot wall for a home run.

The second round went to Ohtani, who leads the National League in total bases and also knows a thing or two about throwing 100 mph.

“Yeah, I like to call it ‘big on big,’” Skenes said afterward. “Obviously, [I] beat him a few times before. And I think that was the right pitch to throw there. He’s just a really good player. So things like this will happen.

“And frankly, that’s why we play, is for matchups like this. Then [I’m] I’m not happy about giving up, but it’s part of the game.”

Reflecting on Skenes’ post-game confrontation, Ohtani gave his analysis through interpreter Will Ireton: “The material itself was very good. As you saw in my first at-bat, I couldn’t hit good shots. But overall, they are very good things.

“Instead of the fleece, it’s really the angle and release [that make Skenes hard to hit]so I made the adjustment in the second at-bat.”

Ohtani’s uncanny ability to adjust quickly, even after looking so defeated in the first inning, was evident in his third at-bat against Skenes amid a busy fifth inning. After rookie center fielder Andy Pages tagged Skenes for a home run to open the inning and Chris Taylor hit on an error, Skenes responded by striking out Betts and Freeman.

Between those two K’s, Ohtani hit a single to right field — you guessed it — a high, fast ball. Although Skenes got out of the inning to conclude his night without further damage, Ohtani clinched the third and final run of their battle, leaving us all wondering how Skenes will respond in their next encounter. (The Pirates visit Dodger Stadium August 9-11, in case you’re curious.)

Ohtani may have ended the night with the edge between the two, but Skenes unquestionably handled the larger task of taming the Dodgers lineup and securing a series victory for Pittsburgh with the 10-6 victory. His successful outing provided a thrilling encore to what fellow rookie Jared Jones did on Tuesday in the series opener, pitching six scoreless innings with three of his own dramatic encounters with Ohtani, all of which went Jones’ way. (2 K’s and a GIDP).

A close friend of Skenes who played travel ball as a teenager in Southern California, Jones is equally electric as his ultra-famous teammate, albeit without much exposure — at least not yet. But with the duo gaining more attention and promise with each successive outing, the future in Pittsburgh appears to be getting brighter quickly, and that feeling has been palpable the past two nights at PNC Park.

“It was a great atmosphere,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said Wednesday. “And you know, I think when you have young players that you’ve recruited and developed like we did with [Jared] Jones, Skenes and even [Mitch] Keller, we’re seeing that fans are interested in this.

“It’s really fun to see this stadium come to life.”