When Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes took the mound against the Chicago Cubs on Friday afternoon, the talented right-hander was hoping to earn a victory for just the fifth time this season. Unfortunately for Skenes, Pittsburgh’s offense struggled to solve Cubs starter Cade Horton, and Skenes would exit the contest after 95 pitches.
While the Pirates would tack on two runs against Chicago’s bullpen later in the game and eventually earn a 2-1 extra inning victory, Skenes was on the receiving end of his fifth no-decision of the season after Caleb Ferguson allowed a game-tying run to score in the eighth inning.
Currently sporting a record of 4-6 with a 1.78 ERA in 15 starts, Skenes now finds himself on the wrong side of Major League Baseball history.
According to R.J. Anderson of CBS Sports, Skenes’ latest no-decision helped break a six-way-tie between current and former pitchers to claim his latest entry into MLB’s record book.
“In turn, [Skenes] earned the dubious honor of recording the fewest number of wins (four) by a pitcher who began a season with a sub-2.00 ERA through 15 starts since Major League Baseball integrated in 1947,” wrote Anderson.
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The previous record of five wins was held by Jacob deGrom, Shelby Miller, Zack Greinke, Clayton Kershaw, Mike Morgan, and former Pirate Bob Veale, who accomplished the undesirable feat during the 1968 season.
Skenes will look to get back in the win column when he takes the mound against the Detroit Tigers next week.
Featured image via Kim Klement Neitzel/Imagn Images