Pirates ace Paul Skenes is making flirting with no-hitters a habit during dominant stretch

PITTSBURGH (AP) - Paul Skenes slowly sauntered back to the Pittsburgh Pirates dugout at the end of the top of the eighth inning on Tuesday night, his loping and deliberate strides giving the PNC Park crowd plenty of time to rise for the kind of standing ovation that's becoming commonplace at the end of his starts.

The reigning National League Cy Young Award winner tipped his cap, then disappeared from view for a quick debrief with Pirates manager Don Kelly.

Sure, the competitor in Skenes wanted the opportunity to go back out for the ninth in search for the first complete game victory of his big league career. The remarkably mature 23-year-old who is constantly trying to keep things in perspective knew better.

His first pitch of the eighth, a fastball, hit just 93.7 mph, pedestrian by his standards.

So Skenes told Kelly he was done after 98 pitches and eight innings of two-hit brilliance and the chance for that elusive shutout had to wait. Skenes quietly gave way to Gregory Soto, who got the final three outs of a 3-1 win over Colorado that pushed Skenes' record to 6-2 and whittled his ERA to 1.98.

"It's a long season," Skenes said. "That was start nine out of 32, 33 and then hopefully eight or nine more after that. So, just got to see the big picture."

One that seems to be growing ever brighter for Skenes. Two years and a day after his electric major league debut, Skenes is somehow surpassing the outsized expectations that followed him to Pittsburgh.

Consider this: Skenes took a no-hitter into the seventh inning against the Rockies, the third time in his last four starts he hasn't allowed a hit until the fifth or later.

Colorado spent six innings flailing away against Skenes before Mickey Moniak's sinking line-drive single to left-center with one out in the seventh. Pirates centerfielder Oneil Cruz stretched out every inch of his 6-foot-7 frame to make the grab, only to see it bounce a foot or two in front of his glove.

"I ran so hard that I'll tell you right now, I would not run after my kids like that," Cruz said afterward with a laugh.

And while the Pirates remain without a no-hitter since Francisco Cordova and Ricardo Rincon teamed for a 10-inning masterpiece in July 1997 - nearly five years before Skenes was born - there's a growing sense that it's not a matter of 'if' Skenes will make history, but when.

Kelly turned to pitching coach Bill Murphy at one point as Skenes was retiring 18 of his first 19 hitters and admitted he felt like he was enduring a flashback of sorts to his time as a player in Detroit in the early 2010s, when it seemed like Tigers ace Justin Verlander could do no wrong.

"You were shocked when he gave up a hit," Kelly said. "And Paul is on that type of run right now. Just the way that he's throwing the ball, the command in the zone too, and then to be able to mix it up with all of his pitches. Impressive to watch."

The rookie whose fastball would hit triple-digits with ease has dialed back a bit on the velocity, focusing more on placement and a deep repertoire that keeps opponents off balance. By his count there are seven different pitches he can call upon at any time.

Nearly all of them were working against Colorado. Skenes struck out his first six batters. Willi Castro tried to break Skenes' rhythm by laying down a bunt to lead off the third.

The ball bounced right back to Skenes, who tossed it to first and said "nice bunt" to no one in particular as the PNC Park crowd booed the attempt.

Skenes didn't boo. He just thought "it was kind of funny" and then went back to work while becoming the first Pirates pitcher since 1961 to have consecutive starts of eight innings or more while allowing two hits without issuing a walk.

It's heady territory to be clear. Not that Skenes wants to talk about it. He prefers to bury himself in the process and let the results speak for themselves.

"He'll tinker with stuff. Wind up. Stretch. Pitches. Pitch grips," Kelly said. "It's just really, honestly, the way he goes about it every day, whether it's with the actual pitching or his conditioning, the way he gets after in the weight room. It's amazing to watch."

And he's still just getting started. Skenes doesn't turn 24 until later this month. His next turn in the rotation comes on Sunday when Philadelphia visits. When his towering No. 30 takes the hill against the Phillies, what happened on Tuesday night against the Rockies won't matter. No one knows that better than Skenes.

"Every start is new," he said. "And you can get humbled real quick."

Getting hit, however, is another matter entirely.