Paul Skenes had everything working on Friday. Until he reached Jake Bauers (for the third time).
The Pittsburgh Pirates ace took a perfect game into the seventh inning against the Milwaukee Brewers and got two outs before losing it to a 105.5 mph grounder from the Milwaukee first baseman.
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Skenes had gotten ahead 1-2 in the at-bat, but Bauers worked the count full, fouled off two strikes then hit a single up the middle.
Skens finished the inning with a flyout from Tyler Black and that wound up being his last frame of the night. His final line: 7 innings, 1 hit, 0 runs, 0 walks and 7 strikeouts on 93 pitches.
The most recent MLB perfect game remains Domingo German’s on June 28, 2023.
The Pirates needed nothing more in a 6-0 win over Milwaukee. Their record is now 15-11, while the Brewers are 13-12. Those above-.500 records are good for fourth and fifth place in the NL Central.
Pirates top prospect Konnor Griffin opened the scoring with his first career home, on his 20th birthday.
There were some worries about Skenes, the reigning NL Cy Young Award winner, when he opened the season with a clunker against the New York Mets, but he’s since been on a tear (while the Mets have been on the opposite of a tear).
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He has a 0.95 ERA in five post-Opening Day starts, with 29 strikeouts against 10 hits in 28 1/3 innings. His career ERA is also now a ridiculous 2.01.
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