Skenes strikes out first seven Cubs, 11 overall
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Jesse Rogers, ESPN Staff Writer
CHICAGO — Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander Paul Skenes already is making history just two starts into his first major league season.
On Friday, the rookie struck out the first seven Chicago Cubs hitters he faced during an electric outing at Wrigley Field, his first big league appearance on the road.
Skenes, 21, retired the first 13 batters overall before walking first baseman Michael Busch in the fifth inning. Busch was the only baserunner to reach off Skenes, who pitched six innings without giving up a hit on 100 pitches. He struck out 11 overall.
The seven strikeouts to begin a game set a record for a Pirates pitcher and were second most behind Jacob deGrom (eight straight batters in 2014) for the longest run by a rookie in MLB history. It also tied the fifth-longest streak to start a game in big league history.
Skenes’ 18 strikeouts through his first two outings — both against the Cubs — are tied with Nick Maddox (1907) for the most by a Pirates pitcher over his first two career starts.
Skenes threw 12 pitches at 100 mph or faster Friday, while sprinkling in his secondary pitches in a dominant performance. He became the fifth rookie pitcher since the mound was extended in 1893 to have 10 strikeouts and no hits allowed in a game.
Information from ESPN Stats & Information was used in this report.
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Jake Trotter
A UAB football player stabbed two of his teammates Saturday morning at the football facility ahead of the Blazers’ home game against USF, a university spokesperson told ESPN.
The suspect has been arrested, and both injured players are in stable condition after being taken to UAB hospital. The school has not released the names of any of the players involved.
UAB’s game against USF began as scheduled at 3 p.m. ET.
A UAB official said an investigation is ongoing.
“UAB’s top priority remains the safety and well-being of all of our students,” the school said in a statement.
Ohio State wide receivers Carnell Tate and Jeremiah Smith are not expected to play against Rutgers on Saturday due to lower-body injuries, sources told ESPN’s Pete Thamel.
Tate will miss his third straight game. Smith played in last week’s win over UCLA but missed the second half after being seen limping before halftime. Both are considered day-to-day, sources said, ahead of a potential return next week against rival Michigan.
On Tuesday, coach Ryan Day would not rule out either wide receiver but also did not want to go into specifics on their availability.
“Our policy is we don’t discuss specifics on injuries, and once you start going down a little bit here, a little bit there, you can create a problem,” Day said. “So for a number of reasons, we don’t discuss those things.”
Smith leads the Big Ten and ranks third in the nation with 10 touchdown catches while ranking third in the conference in receiving yards per game (90.2) and second in catches per game (6.9). Tate is fifth in the Big Ten with 88.9 receiving yards per game.
Brandon Inniss started in place of Tate against UCLA and led No. 1 Ohio State with six catches for 30 yards during a 48-10 win.
The 5-5 Scarlet Knights are looking to beat Ohio State for the first time in their 11th try since joining the Big Ten in 2014.
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.
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