The starting pitching matchup for Tuesday night’s All-Star Game presented by Mastercard will feature a pair of heavyweights.
The Pirates’ Paul Skenes and Detroit’s Tarik Skubal, two of the best pitchers in baseball, will be the starters for this year’s Midsummer Classic at Atlanta’s Truist Park, Ken Rosenthal announced during Saturday night’s Phillies-Padres game on FOX.
This is the second straight year that Skenes will get the starting nod for the National League. Despite being drafted a little over two years ago and making his MLB debut on May 11, 2024, the 23-year-old Skenes has already blossomed into one of the game’s most intimidating hurlers.
Skenes became the fifth rookie pitcher to start when he took the hill in last year’s All-Star Game in Arlington, tossing a scoreless frame against the American League. Skenes would go on to finish with a 1.96 ERA and 4.3 Wins Above Replacement (FanGraphs) in 133 innings before taking home the NL Rookie of the Year Award. Skenes has essentially been just as good this season, posting a Major League-best 2.01 ERA, 4.1 WAR and 131 strikeouts in 121 innings.
Through his first 19 starts, Skubal has a 2.23 ERA, 4.7 WAR and a 153-to-16 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 121 innings. Skubal has had some truly electrifying performances this season, including a 13-strikeout “Maddux” on May 25 against the Guardians and a 13-strikeout, one-hit gem on Sunday Night Baseball against the Twins on June 29.
Skubal, who tossed a scoreless inning in last year’s Midsummer Classic, will become the first Tigers pitcher to start the All-Star Game since Max Scherzer in 2013.
