Paul Skenes made history on Tuesday night at Truist Park in Atlanta.
The former LSU All-American right-hander became the first Major League Baseball pitcher to start the All-Star Game in each of his first two seasons.
The Pittsburgh Pirates ace pitched a perfect first inning for the National League, striking out Gleyber Torres and Riley Greene of the Detroit Tigers before retiring Aaron Judge of the New York Yankees on a ground ball to end the American League first inning.
Skenes was also the starting pitcher in the 2024 All-Star Game for the National League as a rookie. He pitched a scoreless first inning in last season’s Midsummer Classic in Arlington, allowing no hits with one walk.
According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Skenes on Tuesday night became the first pitcher and one of only five Major Leaguers ever to start in the All-Star Game in each of his first two big league seasons, joining Hall of Famers Joe DiMaggio (first seven seasons, 1936-42); Rod Carew (first three seasons, 1967-69); and Frank Robinson (first two seasons, 1956-57); and 2025 Hall of Fame Inductee Ichiro Suzuki (first four seasons, 2001-04).
Skenes is the 10th pitcher in MLB history to make consecutive starts for the National League in the All-Star Game. He also became the first pitcher to make consecutive Midsummer Classic starts since 2018, when Washington’s Max Scherzer started for the second straight time for the National League and Boston’s Chris Sale made his third start in a row for the American League.
The 2024 National League Rookie of the Year has been dominant again in 2025 for the Pirates, recording a 2.01 ERA in 121.0 innings with 131 strikeouts. He finished with an 11-3 record in 2024, logging a 1.96 ERA with 170 strikeouts in 133.0 innings.