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What Pirates’ Paul Skenes said about getting yanked from dominant complete game opportunity
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The Pittsburgh Pirates beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 1-0 on Wednesday thanks to a dazzling outing from Paul Skenes . The defending Cy Young winner threw eight innings of two-hit, shutout ball against the Snakes. Gregory Soto came in to close the game , taking the complete game opportunity from Skenes. He spoke with MLB.com’s Jack Magruder about losing the chance for a complete game.
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“When I came out I didn’t know what the pitch count was,” Skenes said. “A lot of confidence in Soto to finish it, so I wasn’t worrying about it too much.”
Skenes was pulled with only 97 pitches after manager Don Kelly noticed his velocity dip in the eighth inning. With playoff hopes for this season and months still to go, Skenes’ health is the priority. Skenes has thrown one complete game, going eight innings in a 1-0 loss to the Philadelphia Phillies last season.
Skenes retired the first 14 hitters he faced against the Diamondbacks on Wednesday. The Pirates did not allow a base runner until Lordes Gurriel Jr hit an infield single in the fifth. Nolan Arenado followed that up with another single, but Skenes finished the inning after that. He started by retiring 14 consecutive hitters and ended with 10 more in a row.
Skenes detailed what was working well for him against the Diamondbacks. “It always goes back to execution. It’s not easy, but it’s simple. If you execute your pitches, it’s going to go the way you want. These games are fun to pitch in, for sure. It is never easy pitching in the big leagues, but when you get ahead [in the count], it’s a lot easier to pitch. When you don’t, that’s when they can do damage. So just have to keep getting ahead.”
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The Pirates won Wednesday’s game on a first-inning homer by Brandon Lowe . They go for a series win in the desert on Thursday.
Related: Pirates manager Don Kelly reveals concern before pulling Paul Skenes vs. Diamondbacks
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