Paul Skenes could only watch in horror Saturday as the first batter he faced raced all the way to home plate.
The Pittsburgh Pirates ace was behind 2-1 to Colorado Rockies leadoff hitter Jake McCarthy in the bottom of the 1st inning at Coors Field in Denver, Colo. Skenes tried to sneak a fastball to even the count and got burned in a big way.
McCarthy smashed the mashed middle-middle meatball to deep right-center field. Pirates center fielder Jake Mangum tried to make a diving play at the ball and fell short. The ball rolled all the way to the wall and died right underneath the outfield fence.
JAKE McCARTHY LEADOFF INSIDE-THE-PARKER! pic.twitter.com/uVdLaFZnie
— MLB (@MLB) June 21, 2026
The speedy McCarthy completed the inside-the-park home run with plenty of time to spare. No errors were recorded on the play, meaning the Rockies outfielder officially earned his 5th home run of the season the hard way.
McCarthy entered the game 3-for-6 with a double and a triple against Skenes and continued that success on Saturday night. Following the inside-the-parker, McCarthy legged out a double on a slow-rolling ground ball to center field in his second at-bat.
The home run Skenes gave up to McCarthy was already the 9th he has allowed through 16 starts in 2026. He only allowed 11 home runs across 32 starts last season.
