The Pittsburgh Pirates pulled Paul Skenes after he carried a 99 pitch no-hitter through seven innings against the Milwaukee Brewers

Paul Skenes struck out 11 in seven no-hit innings in a dominant performance against the Brewers as the Pittsburgh Pirates beat their NL Central rivals by a final score of 1-0 on Thursday.

In case you’ve been living under a rock, Paul Skenes, was the No. 1 overall pick in last year’s draft out of LSU. He has been filthy all season long for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Today was the second time he was pulled from a game with a no-hit bid still in tact. Skenes struck out 11 while pitching six no-hit innings in his second start for Pittsburgh on May 17 at the Chicago Cubs. He has permitted two runs or fewer in nine of his 11 starts at the major league level.

Skenes threw 99 pitches in his 11th major league start with 65 strikes. He struck out 11 and walked just one while lowering his ERA on the season to an impressive 1.90 with 89 strikeouts through 11 starts – the fifth-most K’s through 11 starts in MLB history since 1901.

PAUL SKENES: 7 IP, 0 H, 0 R, BB, 11 K

PAUL. SKENES.
7 IP
0 H
0 R
1 BB
11 K

The @Pirates rookie lowers his ERA to 1.90. pic.twitter.com/8QAg4sD4CZ

— MLB Pipeline (@MLBPipeline) July 11, 2024

This was Paul Skenes eighth straight start with at least seven strikeouts, the longest streak by a Pirates pitcher. It was his second start of at least 11 strikeouts over six or more no-hit innings, joining Nolan Ryan as the only AL/NL players to do it in the same season.

Ryan did it in 1973 while notably completing a no-hitter in both of those appearances.

WATCH: Young Pittsburgh Pirates fan gives the perfect answer when asked what he likes most about Paul Skenes >>

The Reaction to Ending Paul Skenes No-Hit Bid with 99 Pitches

Unfortunately, Pirates’ skipper Derek Shelton didn’t want to give his ace a chance at greatness and instead of sending him back out for the eighth inning, he pulled him in favor of reliever Colin Holderman – who immediately gave up a hit upon entering the game.

To be clear, I think it’s beyond stupid to pull Paul Skenes from the game and judging by the reaction from baseball fans across social media it looks like everyone is thinking the same.

Paul Skenes, one of this year’s most electric, must-see pitchers, is pulled with a no-hitter in progress after 7 innings and 11 strikeouts.

No longer are pitchers given the opportunity to achieve greatness. Imagine pulling Gibson, Clemens or Mussina here? pic.twitter.com/RoovmYAnTA

— Not Gaetti (@notgaetti) July 11, 2024

Paul Skenes pulled after 7 IP with an 11K
No hitter

And the bullpen immediately lets up a hit pic.twitter.com/YELmBtfyfj

— Barstool Baseball (@StoolBaseball) July 11, 2024

Obviously, the Pirates have invested so much into Paul Skenes and Shelton was just concerned with the pitch count. Pittsburgh has been overly-cautious with Skenes since Triple-A, never letting him throw more than 75 pitches in a game. His season high was 107 pitches in his last start against the New York Mets on July 5.

The Generational Rookie Sensation Paul Skenes:

Paul Skenes' final first-half numbers, after his seven-inning, no-hit, 11-strikeout gem today:

66.1 innings
48 hits
13 walks
89 strikeouts
7 home runs
1.90 ERA
Opponent slash: .202/.251/.319
Average fastball velocity: 99.1 mph

The best pitcher in MLB since his debut May 11.

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) July 11, 2024

I don’t think any baseball fan wants Skenes to turn into the next Stephen Strasburg but a quick look back to last year would prove that he has what it takes to throw 100+ pitches on a regular basis.

Hell, Skenes would throw 120+ pitches in a game and be locked and loaded for his next start with zero issues. He’s the definition of a “Work Horse” and the Pirates need to take the training wheels off and let Skenes ascend into stardom before there are riots on the streets in Pittsburgh.

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