Pirates' Paul Skenes, Dodgers' Shohei Ohtani trade highlights in much-anticipated showdown

Thanks to a free ticket, a teenage Paul Skenes was in attendance when Shohei Ohtani made his home pitching debut for the Los Angeles Angels against the Oakland Athletics in April 2018.

Skenes watched in awe as the Japanese superstar, a two-time AL MVP who was then only a 23-year-old rookie, recorded 12 strikeouts while tossing a one-hitter over seven scoreless innings.

“Obviously didn’t know what the baseball world had at the time,” Skenes said, “but it was fun watching him compete.”

The baseball world knew it was watching something special when the Pittsburgh Pirates rookie right-hander faced the Los Angeles Dodgers designated hitter for the first time in a highly anticipated matchup Wednesday night before 28,716 at PNC Park.

There was plenty of hype, given that it featured a two-way talent in Ohtani regarded by many as the game’s best player against Skenes, a 6-foot-6, 260-pounder flamethrower who made his major league debut only 10 months after being the 2023 No. 1 overall draft pick.

The Skenes-Shohei showdown lived up to its billing.

Where Skenes struck out Ohtani on three triple-digit heaters in the first inning, Ohtani answered by blasting a full-count fastball for a two-run home run in the third and smacking a single in his third at-bat.

“We’re talking about one of the best players, if not the best player, in the game,” Pirates manager Derek Shelton said of Ohtani. “You have to execute pitches to him every single at-bat. … This guy’s a special talent, every at-bat.”

Skenes knew he couldn’t afford to fixate on Ohtani, however, given that the Dodgers have two other MVPs at the top of their batting order in Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman and a cleanup batter in Will Smith who also ranks among the top 10 in the NL in OPS.

“It’s baseball. We’ve got to get every guy out,” Skenes said. “Because you can get caught up in him, then there’s a pretty darn good player after him and a pretty darn good player after that guy. You’ve got to focus on getting each guy out.”

The first inning couldn’t have gone better for Skenes. After he struck out Betts on four pitches, Skenes got Ohtani swinging at three consecutive four-seamers clocked at triple digits. Ohtani whiffed at a 101.3-mph fastball inside, had a foul tip on a 100.1 pitch away, then went down swinging at 100.8 high and inside.

Ohtani was impressed with Skenes’ angle and release more so than his velocity.

“(Skenes) stuff that first at-bat was really good,” Ohtani said through an interpreter. “I couldn’t put together good swings, but overall just really good stuff.”

Freeman worked a 3-1 count before hitting a high flyout to right field, as Skenes set the Dodgers down in a 1-2-3 first.

“I think the one thing we’re learning about him is he’s not afraid to go after people,” Shelton said. “He went right after a really good lineup. Again, the top three guys all have MVP trophies.”

The Pirates chased Dodgers lefty James Paxton after only 1⅔ innings, as they scored seven runs in the bottom of the second. That forced Skenes to wait through a long inning before taking the mound again.

In the third, Skenes gave up a single to Andy Pages, then got Chris Taylor looking at a curveball for a strikeout before Betts grounded into a forceout. That brought Ohtani to bat again. This time, Skenes opted to mix his pitches. He threw a first-pitch fastball at 99.6 mph for a strike, followed by a pair of changeups for balls before blowing a 99.5-mph heater by hime for a second strike. Ohtani sat on a 100-mph fastball inside to work a full count, then waited for Skenes to challenge him.

“The game at that time said that we’re up 7-0, so we’re going to grab 100 and let it go,” Pirates catcher Yasmani Grandal said. “If we execute it, we get him out; if we don’t execute it … he’s a really good baseball player, so he’s probably going to hit it.”

When Skenes left a 100.1-mph fastball over the middle, Ohtani sent it 415 feet to straightaway center for a two-run home run – his 15th of the season – to cut the Pirates’ lead to 7-2.

Skenes simply tipped his cap to Ohtani.

“Yeah, I like to call that big on big because I obviously beat him a couple times earlier,” Skenes said. “I think that was the right pitch to throw there. He’s just a pretty darn good player. Stuff like that is going to happen. … Frankly, that’s why we play the game – for matchups like that. Not happy I gave it up, but it’s part of the game.”

Skenes and Ohtani matched up again in the fifth, after Pages led off with a solo homer to cut the Dodgers’ deficit to 7-3, Chris Taylor reached on an error by shortstop Nick Gonzales, and Betts watched a 100.6-mph fastball for a called third strike.

Ohtani fouled off the first pitch, a slider, and took a changeup for a ball before smacking a 98.1-mph fastball at the top of the strike zone for a single through second base. Will Smith followed with a single to right, but Skenes got Teoscar Hernandez to ground to third for a forceout.

After allowing three runs on six hits with eight strikeouts against one walk in five innings and topping triple digits on 16 of his 93 pitches – including five against Ohtani – Skenes walked off the mound to cheers from a crowd that had fun watching him compete against baseball’s best.

“I mean, he’s a 1.1. It’s what he’s supposed to do. You don’t get drafted that high, being the first overall pick, for no reason,” Pirates designated hitter Andrew McCutchen said. “So, challenge accepted. He’s just going to go out and do what he knows that he’s supposed to do. It’s not a surprise. Shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone who knows the game of baseball. …

“They’re going to talk about that, this moment, for the next who knows how long. They’re going to show the Shohei vs. Skenes at-bats. They’re going to show him striking out. They’re going to show the homer. It’s going to give people something to talk about in baseball, thus it should be talked about it because it was two guys, two hosses going after it, man. He got him, they got each other, one or the other.”

What Grandal appreciated was how Skenes pitched against the Dodgers, even though his off-speed stuff wasn’t sharp. Skenes has had more impressive performances – most notably his 11 strikeouts in six no-hit innings at the Chicago Cubs on May 17 – but Grandal believes he has yet to tap into his full potential in the major leagues.

“Yeah, he’s not even close,” Grandal said. “I thought he could have been even better. But that’s just me, because I hold him to high expectations, right? Today, did he have his best stuff all around? No. But he had his fastball, so he can survive on that. I would love to see what a day looks like when everything is working all together. That’s going to be a nightmare for somebody. … He’s got a lot of room to grow, which is scary to say.”