Paul Skenes’ Latest Start Has Pirates Manager Drawing Comparison To Future Hall Of Famers

It was all smiles in the dugout for Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes on Wednesday.

Skenes had many reasons to be happy as he got plenty of run support and turned in a dominant outing in a 10-1 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks at Chase Field.

The Pirates star tossed 6 2/3 scoreless innings and scattered four hits while walking none and striking out seven. It was Skenes’ first win on the mound in over a month despite allowing just eight earned runs in his previous five starts.

“Paul Skenes, they don’t come around ever,” Pirates manager Don Kelly told reporters, per SportsNet Pittsburgh. “There’s few pitchers like that. When I was younger, I got to play with (Justin) Verlander and (Max) Scherzer, and, really, that’s what you see in Paul is that type of guy. If he can continue that, continue to develop, continue to grow, he’s a pitcher he’s not a thrower, just the way he works, everything. He’s definitely a guy you want to build around.”

The Diamondbacks never really threatened Skenes as they got a runner to second twice — but never to third — while the 6-foot-6, 260-pound righthander was on the mound.

Skenes, who lowered his ERA to 2.15 on the season, seemed to win over some Diamondbacks fans as he exited to applause following his terrific showing. Or maybe they were just excited to see him leave so Diamondbacks hitters would have a better chance of getting on base.

“People show up to watch him pitch. I love to watch him pitch, you know?” Kelly said. “He’s great out there. He’s special. What you don’t see is the other days that he’s in here working his tail off to be that guy, too.”