Paul Skenes had a surprising reaction to Shohei Ohtani’s big home run off him on Wednesday.
Skenes’ Pittsburgh Pirates beat Ohtani’s Los Angeles Dodgers 10-6. Skenes allowed three runs over five innings and struck out 8 for the win.
The 2023 No. 1 overall draft pick struck out Ohtani on three pitches in their first meeting of the game. But in Ohtani’s second at-bat, the Dodgers slugger got revenge by belting a 2-run home run to center field.
And how did Skenes react? He didn’t throw his glove or get angry. Rather, he smiled as if to say, “well, he got me that time.”
Paul Skenes face when Ohtani hit a home run
Fan boy mode pic.twitter.com/k850Rn01sW
— shobae 大谷翔平 ¹⁷ Ohtani Shohei (@shoheisaveus) June 6, 2024
Skenes striking out Ohtani on three pitches and then seeing Ohtani homer on the next at-bat gave fans on both sides exactly what they wanted.
The two players represent arguably the best pitcher (Skenes) and best hitter (Ohtani) in MLB. Watching them each be at their best is for for the fans, and even for the participants, apparently.
