Friendly rivalry? Skenes, Shota reconnect after '24 convo preceded no-no

PITTSBURGH – Paul Skenes and Shota Imanaga didn’t reconnect until Wednesday this week. Given how their last on-field conversation went last year, that was probably for the best.

A year ago, the two pitchers met up at PNC Park to talk shop. Imanaga was curious how Skenes threw his four-seam fastball, and the Pirates’ stud showed him the grip. Imanaga went on to start a combined no-hitter his next time out against the Pirates.

“I got to watch what I say around him,” Skenes joked Tuesday. “He’s trying to get better.”

On Wednesday (the day after Imanaga made his start in this series), the Pirates’ and Cubs’ star pitchers talked shop again, with broadcast teams capturing Imanaga demonstrating a pitch to Skenes. The two broke into Major League baseball last year (Skenes was the National League Rookie of the Year, while Imanaga finished fourth in the vote) and are positioned to square off for years to come. There will probably be more conversations between the two in that time, to the potential chagrin of their team’s hitters.

“He’s just a fantastic pitcher, and with his potential, just historic,” Imanaga said via interpreter Edwin Stanberry. “I think just being able to play baseball at the same time he is, that’s a big honor. He may not be giving me any more advice, but I still would want to talk to him.”

Skenes is a student of the game and a pitch tinkerer. He’s trying to pick up something from those conversations, too, but trying to be like Imanaga on the mound probably wouldn’t have the best results.

“I don’t know, I find I’m pretty good at doing what I do,” Skenes said. “I’m not as good at understanding what other people do, if that makes sense. Looking at a low-release, high-slot lefty who throws 90 to 93-94 [mph] with a splitter that’s just about the exact opposite of my repertoire. I’ll take what I can.”

Alas for Skenes, he couldn’t return the favor to Imanaga and the Cubs on Thursday. After a bout of early wildness, the Cubs eventually started to barrel him up in the fifth inning, launching a trio of homers to cut his day short at five innings. Chicago went on to win, 8-3.

“Fifth inning, it just looked like he was tiring a little bit,” said bench coach Don Kelly, who was serving as manager as Derek Shelton attended his son’s college graduation. “Pitches were elevated, velo came down a tick and just got out of whack a little bit there.”

Skenes felt he was “a little all over the place” during his pregame bullpen, and that continued into the game. He leaned heavily on his four-seamer, sweeper and “splinker,” but they didn’t generate the whiffs they normally do. The Cubs swung the bat 28 times against those three pitches, but whiffed just four times.

"Execution wasn't there,” Skenes said. “Kind of spraying the ball. Got away with it there for a while and obviously it showed up a little bit in the fifth, but it is what it is."

Thursday was not Skenes’ sharpest outing, and while he has already matched his loss total from a year ago, it’s hard to put too much of that onus on him and his 2.74 ERA.

And if things really do go sideways, he does have a fellow NL Central pitcher he’s going to bump elbows with a couple more times this season who might have an idea or two.

“It’s a cool relationship to have,” Skenes said. “Obviously being in the same division, I see him a lot. Looking forward to him doing his thing.”