PHILADELPHIA — Pirates starter Paul Skenes laughed when a reporter asked what he thought about Mick Abel’s MLB debut.
“I’m sorry. I’m not the right guy to ask,” Skenes said.
Skenes, the best young pitcher in baseball and one of the game’s biggest stars, is as regimented as it gets. He does not stay in the dugout to watch his team go up to bat. Maybe it’s for the better.
His Pirates have lost all of his last four starts. He turned in his best outing of the year against the Phillies, but did not get any run support. It’s tragically fitting that his first career complete game is a 1-0 loss. Skenes said he’ll only keep the ball from the game if it has an asterisk.
Abel, on the other hand, will take all of the souvenirs he can get. The former Phillies first-round pick threw six shutout innings and tied Curt Simmons’ 1947 record for the most strikeouts by a Phillie in his MLB debut.
“It’s a lot more than I could have expected,” Abel said.
Abel attacked the strike zone. He threw first-pitch strikes to all but six of the 22 batters he faced. He was badly squeezed at times by home plate umpire Derek Thomas, but he was able to stay in his rhythm.
“He slowed everything down today, stayed in the moment,” Thomson said. “That’s part of experience and growing up. It’s really good to see. I’m really happy for him.”
Abel had a five-pitch mix going: fastball, curveball, slider, sinker and changeup. He reached back for 99 mph against the leadoff batter Oneil Cruz in the first inning. Pirates hitters took 11 hacks at his curveball — and missed eight times. He did not allow an extra-base hit — or a walk.
“I know our guys were talking about the depth of the curveball,” Pirates manager Don Kelly said. “The way it was spinning and diving. To his credit, he came out firing strikes.”
Skenes and Abel have never met, but Skenes, who is nine months younger than Abel, recalls playing against him in youth tournaments.
“I was fired up to pitch against him,” Skenes said. “I remember him being the guy in high school. The stuff is electric, from what guys were saying coming back into the dugout. I’ll probably rewatch this start and watch his next start. It’s cool to pitch against him.”
Maybe it’s for the better that Abel is no longer the guy. After a tumultuous season in Triple-A where he posted a 6.46 ERA in 2024, Abel refreshed his mental approach to pitching. He once again looks like the top prospect he was, but without the added pressure that comes with it.
“It took a lot of reflection,” Abel said. “It took a lot of understanding who I am as a person and as a man. I think I’ve said this a lot, I think the biggest thing is redefining what my version of success is.”
His first major league outing was a win because the Phillies were able to do just enough against Skenes at the right time. Back-to-back singles from Nick Castellanos and Max Kepler in the fifth led to an opportunity for the Phillies to manufacture a run. Alec Bohm hit a shallow fly ball to center, but the next batter Brandon Marsh beat out a double play ball to score Castellanos.
Skenes tied his career high with 22 swing-and-misses. He walked only one batter after allowing 11 free passes in his last three starts. It still wasn’t enough, adding even more misery to an already dreadful Pirates season.
He complimented the Phillies lineup he dominated.
“That’s the thing with these really elite lineups, there are no breaks,” Skenes said. “When you’re facing a lineup like that, it has just got to be focus and execution every time, every single pitch, because there are no breaks. Harper, Turner, Schwarber, Stott, all those guys, it’s a good lineup.”
As the Pirates and Phillies board a flight out of Philly, Abel will stay behind and celebrate the day with two dozen of his closest family and friends. He is going back to the minors, but he now knows what he is capable of at the big league level.
“I want nothing more than to be back here,” Abel said.
