Paul Skenes happy with All-Star Game performance after allowing no runs

A lot of anticipation built toward Tuesday night’s All-Star Game in Arlington. Mainly because Paul Skenes was going to start for the National League, getting to face the top of the American League’s order. Just over a year after being drafted No. 1 overall by the Pittsburgh Pirates, Skenes was a starting pitcher in the All-Star Game, a first in baseball.

His reward was facing Steven Kwan, Gunnar Henderson, Juan Soto, and Aaron Judge — four of the best hitters out there at the moment. Skenes more than lived up to the moment by throwing a scoreless inning. Soto was the only one to get on, drawing a walk against the rookie.

“It went well,” Skenes said when speaking to FOX’s Ken Rosenthal. “Didn’t have a ton of pitches to show it off. But felt good and got a zero, which is what matters.”

The matchup fans really wanted to watch unfold was Skenes vs. Judge. Nobody hits home runs like the New York Yankees star, while Skenes throws incredible heat and has three other dazzling pitches. With Judge hitting fourth, there was some concern he would not get to the plate.

Ahead of the game, Soto promised everyone out there to get something in his at-bat so Judge could step into the batter’s box. Maybe a little bit of trash-talking to throw off Skenes, he just soaked up the moment of being able to face the duo.

“It was cool to face off against them back-to-back,” Skenes said. “They were tough, for sure. Soto was a tough at-bat. Judge, kind of went after him and got him to roll over. But it was cool to be able to face them in the All-Star game, them being teammates, and face them back-to-back.”

Skenes threw just 16 pitches, 11 of which landed for strikes. No strikeouts for the flamethrower, getting Kwan to popout, a flyout Henderson, and a fielder’s choice when Judge hit a groundball to third base, with Alec Bohm throwing Soto out at second base.

Watching from afar, there appeared to be no nerves. Not just in his first-ever All-Star game but also being the starter after wearing an LSU jersey and winning a national championship just over 12 months ago.

Maybe Skenes is a little human, admitting to taking in the over 40,000 people at Globe Life Field. But he wound up doing what he would any given start at PNC Park.

“You can’t deny there are three decks that are full of people,” Skenes said. “At the end of the day, it’s just baseball.”