Two of baseball’s biggest stars will not collide in the manner many fans and pundits were probably hoping for Tuesday at PNC Park.
Reigning NL Cy Young winner and two-time All-Star Paul Skenes will pitch for the Pittsburgh Pirates (34-32) on Tuesday, but Los Angeles Dodgers phenom Shohei Ohtani won’t oppose him on the hill.
Instead, the Dodgers will start Eric Lauer.
So the first pitching matchup between Skenes and Ohtani, a four-time MVP, will have to wait.
However, Ohtani, who bats leadoff for the Dodgers (42-24), will still get another crack at Skenes, against whom he’s taken 12 career at-bats heading into this week’s three-game series.
Ohtani won’t leave Pittsburgh without pitching at PNC Park for the first time, though, as he’s scheduled to face Jared Jones on Wednesday.
Skenes vs. Ohtani
So far, on the whole, Skenes has gotten the better of Ohtani when pitching against him.
Last year, Ohtani had six plate appearances against Skenes and went hitless, walking once while striking out thrice.
In total, through 12 at-bats, Skenes has struck out Ohtani in half of them.
The 2024 campaign, Skenes’ rookie year, provided most of the fireworks, as he and Ohtani faced off against one another for the first time.
On June 5 at PNC Park, Skenes started against the Dodgers and in his first battle with Ohtani, retired him on three pitches that exceeded 100 mph.
Paul Skenes Annihilating Shohei Ohtani. ???? pic.twitter.com/ZCEum3SPGx
— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) June 5, 2024
But Ohtani got revenge in the third inning of that game, launching a 415-foot homer to center field on a 100.1 mph offering from Skenes.
Ohtani also collected a single that day against Skenes shortly before the latter departed the game, an eventual 10-6 Pirates win.
Shohei Ohtani it's a home run off of Paul Skenes after striking out the first time #mlb#pirates#dodgerspic.twitter.com/q6VlhIyZ04
— Bay Area Super fans (@Baysuperfans) June 5, 2024
Later that season, on Aug. 10, Skenes pitched in a 4-1 loss at Los Angeles, with Ohtani going 0 for 3.
Ohtani’s first time seeing Skenes in June of 2024 was the last time he recorded a hit against him.
The Davis effect
Over parts of seven seasons and 110 starts Ohtani’s made as a big-league pitcher, just one batter holds the distinction of having homered twice against him in a single game.
That would be none other than Pirates catcher Henry Davis, who belted a pair of home runs on the road July 21, 2023, when Ohtani was in his final year with the Angels.
Davis, then a rookie, hit a 410-foot blast to center field in the second inning and again in the sixth, with that home run to right-center also estimated to have traveled 410 feet, per Statcast.
JUST REMEMBER:
PIRATE HENRY DAVIS IS THE ONLY MAN TO HIT TWO HOMERS IN ONE GAME VS. SHOHEI OHTANI
On 7/21/2023, #pittsburgh#pirates rookie Henry Davis did something that had never been done before and hasn’t been done since: he hit TWO home runs in the same game vs. the great… pic.twitter.com/wg4x5XxYIR
— 1986-92 Pittsburgh Pirates (@1992Pirates) June 8, 2026
He went 3 for 3 against Ohtani that day, an 8-5 Pirates loss, in which Ohtani allowed a total of four homers.
While Davis can be expected to catch Skenes on Tuesday, given his track record against Ohtani, the 26-year-old former No. 1 overall draft pick who’s batting only .140 this season may well get the call Wednesday as well.
Other than Davis, six teammates (Nick Gonzales, Brandon Lowe, Marcell Ozuna, Bryan Reynolds, Endy Rodriguez and Jared Triolo) with at-bats against Ohtani have gone a combined 1 for 18 with a walk and eight strikeouts.
Triolo owns the lone hit in that bunch.