Pirates rookie pitcher Paul Skenes reached an incredible milestone on Monday.
A second-inning strikeout of Astros first baseman Jon Singleton gave Skenes his 100th K of the season in 13 starts.
Per Pirates social media, Skenes became the sixth player since 1893 to record 100 strikeouts in 13 games or fewer.
Skenes had four strikeouts and allowed no earned runs in his first four innings against Houston, dropping his ERA for the season to 1.83.
Skenes made his MLB debut on May 11 and was 6-1 with a 1.93 ERA in his first 12 starts.
Earlier this month, he became the fifth rookie, and first since Hideo Nomo in 1995, to start the All-Star Game. Skenes pitched one scoreless inning.
Skenes has been racking up strikeouts since he debuted. He became the first player in MLB history to record at least 70 strikeouts and allow 12 or fewer runs through his first nine starts, per Codify.
Baseball analyst Sarah Langs noted after his last start against the Cardinals on July 23 that Skenes was the first pitcher since at least 1901 to strike out at least seven batters in 11 of his first 12 outings.
Skenes, the No. 1 overall pick of the 2023 MLB Draft, is off to an incredibly rare and excellent beginning to his MLB career.
With each start, he’s rewriting the record books and reaching new heights.