Pirates fans treated to rookie’s debut in victory

By Jarrod Prugar

For the Mirror

PITTSBURGH ­-- A new Pirates generation blasted through the North Shore Saturday night after Pittsburgh won in Paul Skenes' debut, 10-9, over the Cubs.

The song served as a symbol of a new beginning and hope for the Pirates as the organization showcased their 2023 No. 1 draft pick

Fans lined up near the bullpen hours before first pitch to catch a glimpse of Skenes leading up to his rookie debut.

Even his teammates could be found watching and observing his pre-game warmup in the bullpen.

Skenes is no stranger to fanfare having played collegiately at Louisiana State where he pitched in front of tens of thousands of fans in Omaha during the College World Series. The excitement for him in that arena pales in comparison to the energy at PNC Park Saturday afternoon.

The 34,924 fans who nearly filled the ballpark were on the edge of their seats with every Skenes pitch and every movement made by the 21-year old rookie. Teammate and Pittsburgh native David Bednar had a front-row seat to the hysteria in the bullpen.

"It just speaks to the excitement from the whole city. Just about him and about this ballclub," Bednar said. "I think it was really cool to kind of see that and it was cool to see him get off on a good note."

There were some in the media who believed it was the most anticipated debut for a pitcher since Stephen Strasburg debuted for the Washington Nationals in 2010.

"It was awesome," Skenes said. "It was really cool. I mean everybody talks about the stadium, it's an awesome stadium, awesome Skyline. The fans are awesome, it's just an awesome day."

Much like Strasburg's debut, fans weren't disappointed at least until Skenes was lifted from the game with no outs in the fifth inning. That disappointment would turn to another level with Kyle Nicolas walking three Cubs in a row with the bases loaded.

The story despite the bullpen's missteps and the Pirates offense coming in clutch, is still Skenes who would finish his day throwing four innings, allowing three runs on six hits while striking out seven.

"I would guess he was a little bit overamped so the fastball command wasn't as sharp as we had seen it in Indianapolis," Pirates manager Derek Shelton said. "Understandably, I mean, the crowd was into it. That was fun, but overall, again, this stuff plays and it's good."

It was a performance that wasn't as dominant as what fans and players had come to know in Triple-A, but it was far from a bad outing. If that's the floor for Skenes, he's in for quite a long and successful career.

"Stuff was really good," Skenes said. "Just gotta get ahead of hitters a little bit more consistently but I think that'll come."

It's a game to build upon for the Pirates and Skenes. It also serves as a beacon of hope for a Pirates starting rotation that is full of young, quality arms.

Of course, the Pirates also showed there's still much work to be done to be the playoff team the city and fans are starved for.

Now, Skenes and the Pirates can get back to a sense of normalcy with the debut in the rearview mirror.

"I've just been trying to take it as slow as possible," Skenes said. "Minute by minute and really just be present the whole way. It's been a quick couple of days for sure."

Skenes being in Pittsburgh, though, is here to stay and it's clear he's got what it takes to stay with the Pirates.