Possible Rookies Of The Year Battled At The Stadium

 

Paul Skene striking out Juan Soto in the first inning. Photo by Jason Schott.

On Saturday afternoon at Yankee Stadium, there was a matchup between two of the best young pitchers in baseball - Luis Gil of the Yankees and Paul Skenes of the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Gil entered the day with a record of 15-6 with a 3.27 ERA (earned run average), 146 innings pitched, 166 strikeouts, 54 runs (53 earned), 98 hits, 76 walks.

Skenes came in with an 11-3 record with a 1.99 ERA, 131 innings, 167 strikeouts, 31 runs (29 earned), 94 hits, 32 walks.

Yankees Manager said the matchup “could be one” between the Rookies of the Year, as Gil would take it in the American League and Skenes in the National League. “That’s definitely one of the storylines around it, and very much could end up that way.”

Boone said of what Gil has done for the Yankees this season, “He’s been huge. Obviously, with Gerrit (Cole) going down early in spring (training) to start the year, and a spot really opening up for us, and you know not even Luis necessarily being the front-runner, certainly when camp started, just his emergence through spring training and just how good he looked. I always go back to that outing in Clearwater, he was already sent down to the minor league camp and we brought him over, just kind of overwhelmed the Phillies that day with his stuff, and has taken it and really not stopped. You know, he obviously got off to a great start, has hit some bumps along the way, but through it all has really emerged and grown and matured. It’s been an outstanding campaign for him.”

Boone said of what he looked forward to seeing in the Yankees’ first outing against Skenes, “Look, he’s been one of the big stories in Major League Baseball this year, you know. First pick, doesn’t break camp, starts in the All-Star Game, has obviously had a phenomenal year, so I think our guys are looking forward to facing a guy that’s really, really taken the league by storm, and emerged as one of the game’s outstanding starters.”

On what stands out to him the most about Skenes, Boone said, “Just the size and power, and ease with which he generates stuff, and then having some cool names for his pitches, too, so, but I think just his presence out there, so large and he generates power without looking like he’s, you know, max effort-ing it, or anything, so probably just his presence out there.”

Gil started the game by striking out old friend Isiah Kiner-Falefa, and then after allowing a single to Bryan Reynolds, struck out Oneil Cruz and got Nick Gonzalez to line out to left field.

Luis Gil striking out IKF in the first inning. Photo by Jason Schott.

In the bottom of the first, Skenes got Jasson Dominguez to ground out to second base before he struck out both Juan Soto and Aaron Judge. 

Below is a sequence of five pictures showing a pitch by Skenes to Judge that was fouled off for strike two just before Skenes struck him out swinging:

Photos by Jason Schott.

Pittsburgh got the lead in the second inning when Yasmani Grabsak hit a solo home run to right field that made it 1-0.

Skenes picked up where he left off, as he got Austin Wells to hit a pop up to first base that was caught in foul territory. 

Then, Giancarlo Stanton bounced one back to Skenes after the 99-MPH four-seam fastball broke his bat.

Skenes then used that same 99-MPH four-seamer to strike out Jazz Chisholm Jr. looking.

That would be the last pitch he would throw on the day, and most likely the season, as the Pirates yanked him early from the rainy, damp conditions. 

Gil went on to pitch into the sixth inning, and it was a tough outing for the right-hander, as he surrendered four home runs: the one to Grandal in the second, a solo shot to Nick Gonzales in the fourth, Billy Cook blasted one to left field for a two-run homer, and Jared Triolo also hit a two-run homer in the sixth that made it 6-1 at the time. 

The Yankees (93-68), who clinched the American League East on Thursday night, went on to lose 9-4.

Gil took the loss to fall to 15-7 with a 3.50 ERA, while Mike Burrows got the win for Pittsburgh in his Major League debut, as he threw 3 1/3 innings, and allowed two runs (one earned) on two hits and three walks, with two strikeouts, in relief of Skenes.

60 WATCH: In the other curiosity of the day, Aaron Judge entered this one with 58 home runs, two shy of hitting the magic number of sixty for the second time in his career. The first time, of course, was two years ago, when he hit 62 to set the Yankees and American League record.

After the strikeout against Skenes in the first inning, Judge proceeded to strike out in his final four at-bats, including in the ninth with the bases loaded against ex-Yankee Aroldis Chapman.

Aaron Judge heads back to the dugout after striking out against Aroldis Chapman, who stared him down. Photo by Jason Schott.