Pirates No. 1 pick Paul Skenes struggles in Double-A debut, charged with 4 runs

ALTOONA — Paul Skenes’ highly anticipated Double-A debut with the Altoona Curve on Saturday turned out to be a dud.

The No. 1 overall pick by the Pittsburgh Pirates in July’s MLB Draft failed to get through the first inning of an Eastern League game against the Akron RubberDucks before a record-crowd of 10,164 at Peoples Natural Gas Field.

The figure barely eclipsed the 10,116 on hand March 30, 2013, to witness a Curve exhibition game against the Pirates.

Fans packed the stands mainly to watch Skenes, the fifth No. 1 overall pick to play for Altoona, but the thrill was short-lived as the 6-foot-6, 255-pound right-hander was charged with four earned runs in 2/3 of an inning.

He threw 33 pitches, just 16 for strikes.

“Still very impressed,” Curve manager Callix Crabbe said. “Obviously, we wanted him to have two clean innings, but it didn’t work that way. But it impressed me that when he came off the field, he came right into the dugout and his demeanor did not change. He was on the top step supporting his teammates.

“What we’ve heard about him as a person, it showed to be true in that instance. With it being his first Double-A start, a pretty big moment for the Curve fans — there was a buzz in the air — and how he handled himself coming out of the game after not making it through the first inning was pretty cool.”

Crabbe said the primary reason he lifted Skenes before allowing him to finish the first was because of the number of pitches he threw. Skenes was slated to pitch two innings and stay within a 30-pitch count.

Skenes, who joined pitchers Kris Benson, Bryan Bullington and Gerrit Cole and catcher Henry Davis as No. 1 overall draft picks to play for Altoona, didn’t figure in a decision as the Curve came back for a 9-8 victory on catcher Carter Bins’ RBI single in the bottom of the ninth.

“I thought he looked really good,” Bins said. “His fastball had some good life to it. His offspeed looked good, just missed a little bit out of the zone. It felt like he might have gotten squeezed a bit, but his stuff look really good. It’s his first start in Double-A, and he’s got a long career ahead of him. I don’t think there’s anything to worry about from how he did today.”

When Skenes left the mound with two outs and the RubberDucks leading 2-0, Noe Toribio relieved and allowed two more runners to score. He walked in one run and allowed another to come home on a wild pitch, sending Skenes’ ERA to a 54.00.

But his experience in helping LSU to a seventh College World Series championship this year helped him control any nerves he may have encountered.

“The first time I pitched at LSU, there were definitely nerves. That was such a huge opportunity,” Skenes said. “There’s pressure there pitching in front of 12,000 fans on a Friday night if you’re not used to it. In the end, nobody matters except the people on the field. Everything else is just noise.”

Skenes said pitching in front of a record crowd at PNG Field was thrilling but not overwhelming.

“It’s nice to pitch at home and have 10,000 fans behind your back,” he said, “but they only make a difference if you make a difference. That was something I learned about by being at LSU. It wasn’t a huge shock for me today.”

Skenes, who didn’t give up a run or issue a walk and yielded just one hit in his three previous minor-league appearances, retired two Akron batters (on strikeouts) but gave up three hits and walked two.

He threw two pitches that hit 100 mph and 12 that touched 99.

“A bad outing is a bad outing. It’s just baseball,” Skenes said. “It probably wasn’t the best stuff, and it wasn’t the best execution. They hit three balls through the infield at 90 mph, and nine times out of 10, those are outs. Obviously, two walks are a killer, but to be honest, I wouldn’t call it adversity as much as an opportunity to grow and go out and compete again.”

Skenes is scheduled to make his next start on Friday at Erie.

Before the game, Pirates director of player development John Baker said the immediate plan for Skenes was to remain with the Curve for the remainder of the Eastern League regular season, which runs through Sept. 17.

While it wasn’t the first time a No. 1 overall draft pick was making an appearance at PNG Field, it sure felt like it.

“This is different,” said Rich Deleo, the only public address announcer in the Curve’s 25-year history.

Hours before Skenes threw his first pitch, a member of the Curve grounds crew stood on a tarp covering the mound and periodically tamped the area.

Fans stood outside the gates as early as 4 hours before game time.

“As long as everybody stays calm,” said park usher Jim Smilnak.

At 6:03 p.m., Skenes threw his first pitch, a foul ball by Petey Halpin into the first-base seats. His second pitch was a called strike.

Halpin then hit Skenes’ third offering just past a diving Andres Alvarez at second, setting the tone for an inauspicious Double-A debut.