PHOENIX — Arizona Diamondbacks manager Torey Lovullo first became acquainted with Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes last year when he coached the NL All-Stars and Skenes was his starter as a rookie.
He entered the All-Star stage throwing seven innings in three of his final four starts, boasting a 1.90 ERA over an 11-game stretch that also included his 22nd birthday.
Skenes was then near-perfect against the best of his peers, getting out of the first inning without allowing a hit.
Ahead of him facing the Diamondbacks on Wednesday, Lovullo said the experience left the two personally bonded.
“I’m looking forward to saying hello to him,” Lovullo said on Monday. “I did get a chance to know him, I spent a little bit of personal time with him, and I don’t think a lot of people get to do that that aren’t inside of his organization or his circle. I will always treasure those times.”
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The skipper added there’s often indirect contact between the two, most recently involving Buffalo Bills coach Sean McDermott, a close friend of Lovullo.
“I know we got to face him in two days,” Lovullo said ahead of the series opener. “We’re gonna have to grind it down a little bit, but I’m always looking forward to saying hello to him. Special kid, great for the game.”
The lone chance Lovullo has had to coach against Skenes came a couple weeks after the All-Star Game, and Arizona had relative success in making the ace work.
The Diamondbacks fought for two earned runs, five hits and three walks, all of which were the most or second-most he had allowed in an outing to that point. They knocked him out of the game after 5.1 innings, his third-shortest outing to that point.
“I think our offense is very capable against any starting pitcher at this level,” Lovullo said postgame Tuesday. “If we come out and play our game and wait for mistakes and wait for him to show us where he can wear down a little bit, then we should be ready to take advantage of it.
“But he is a very strong pitcher, he’s a very strong-minded pitcher. He’s coming out here to attack and win a baseball game. We got our work cut out for us, but we’ll be ready for that challenge.”
Wednesday will mark the ace’s first outing at Chase Field, and if he’s taken a step back from his ridiculous rookie effort (1.96 ERA across 133 innings), it’s been a minor one.
Through 11 starts this season, he has a 2.36 ERA and a .947 WHIP equal to his rookie year.
The big gap is in team success, as he has already nearly doubled his total losses from an 11-3 record last year to 3-5 thus far in 2025.
Catch Skenes against Diamondbacks right-hander Zac Gallen on 98.7, the Arizona Sports app or online with first pitch at 12:40 p.m. MST.
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