Skenes still confident in splinker: 'I'm not going to stop throwing it'

LOS ANGELES -- Michael A. Taylor is one of many who recognize the uniqueness in the pitch Paul Skenes throws as a complement to his four-seam fastball that consistently sits around 99 mph. The pitch dubbed as the "splinker," a hybrid that features the movement one would see from a splitter in addition to the velocity of a sinker, has even Skenes' own teammates in awe every time he throws it. 

"I don't think I've seen that much movement and the velo combined," Taylor said. "It's a plus pitch for him and he executes it more times than not. When you locate a pitch like that with the velo and the movement, it's got to be tough for opposing hitters." 

Skenes has implemented the splinker into his arsenal on a full-time basis this season and it's instantly helped him establish himself as one of the game's top pitchers. Hitters haven't been able to figure out how to consistently get the barrel to the ball when he's throwing it at an average of 94 mph while benefitting from an average of 30.3 inches of vertical drop. 

"When you throw at the caliber he throws at, anything that moves different is going to be hard to maintain as a hitter to stay on it," Rowdy Tellez said. "It's a really good pitch and he's a really good pitcher." 

While the splinker has aided his efforts in carrying a 1.99 ERA through his first 14 starts, Skenes was put to the test with the pitch in his latest outing Saturday night. Teoscar Hernandez sent the first pitch he saw from Skenes into the seats in right-center field during the fifth inning of the Pirates' 4-1 loss to the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium, becoming the first player to homer off the splinker in Skenes' 92 big-league innings: 

"Good for him. I mean, I executed that pitch, he's a good hitter," Skenes said. "I think that's the first pump I've given up on that pitch in my career, so you just have to tip your cap." 

The fact that it was the first homer he's allowed with the pitch speaks volumes to how effectively he's used it and how valuable it is to his repertoire. Skenes had thrown it 417 times -- 30.3% of the time -- heading into Saturday and opposing hitters had compiled a minuscule .170 batting average against it.

"It's a pitch that complements his arsenal and it's been a pitch that the league hasn't been able to do too much with," Yasmani Grandal said. "It just so happened that he missed with one in the zone and these are big leaguers, so when you miss over the heart of the plate, you're bound to get hit. The pitch itself has done what it's supposed to be doing. Coming into the season, he learned how to throw it, but I don't think he really thought he was going to use it as much as he has been using it. It's a pitch that has come along real well." 

Despite seeing one player with 26 home runs on the season get the best of the pitch, Skenes isn't even thinking about backing down from turning to it moving forward. 

"I'm not going to stop throwing it," Skenes said. "He won the home run derby this year, right? He won it for a reason. Gotta tip your cap. I'm gonna keep attacking guys with that pitch." 

The solo shot was part of a performance in which Skenes allowed a career-high four earned runs on six hits with a walk and eight strikeouts in six innings. He threw 61 of his 91 pitches for strikes and went to his splinker 26 times, generating five whiffs and four called strikes with it. Dodger hitters fouled off the pitch seven times and put it in play five times. They only picked up two hits on the pitch, one of which came from Hernandez who went 3 for 3 against Skenes. Gavin Lux added some success against the Pirates' starter, driving in a run with a first-inning double and then adding a two-run single in the third. 

Still, despite seeing those two do most of the damage against him, Skenes stayed composed and competed to keep the Pirates within reach for six innings. But that's what he's consistently been able to do since debuting at the big-league level in May. On nights when he might not have his best stuff, his calm demeanor and ability to turn the page and focus on the next hitter allows him to remain a threat with every pitch he throws. 

"I think it's more than just stuff, it's the way he competes," Taylor said. "It seems like he keeps getting better and better, and he's not satisfied. He's always looking to improve. He has a very mature approach and electric stuff." 

As Taylor alluded to, Skenes ultimately aims to improve after each and every start, whether he's keeping teams hitless through six-plus innings or allowing three or more runs like he's done on just three occasions as a major-league starter. He acknowledges his line wasn't particularly pleasant on this night, but as he looks back on the performance as objectively as possible, he still believes there were plenty of positive things he can take away from it. 

"Honestly, a lot of the pitches I didn't execute as well as I could have or should have ended up as outs. That's kinda how it goes a lot of the time," Skenes said. "I'm not going to lose any sleep over the hits that they got, or the home run. They're good hitters. Sometimes they're just gonna get the pitches that other teams haven't been getting to. I just gotta keep playing my game."