Pirates Ace Paul Skenes Shares Thoughts On Dominican Republic’s Loaded Lineup
· Yahoo Sports
Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes will make one of the biggest starts of his life tonight in the World Baseball Classic semifinal game between Team USA and the Dominican Republic at LoanDepot Park in Miami.
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The DR boasts a fearsome lineup led by Juan Soto, Manny Machado, Vladimir Guerrero Jr. and other star sluggers. Collectively, they’re batting .312/.453/.637 with a tournament-leading 51 runs, so they’re swinging hot bats.
Is Skenes nervous to face such an impressive collection of sluggers with a trip to the finals on the line? Of course not.
“I couldn’t care less who I pitch against,” Skenes said in a media session earlier this week.
Paul Skenes “couldn’t care less” who he pitches against — which makes him the perfect man to take the hill tonight, against perhaps the greatest lineup ever assembled.
— Noah Hiles (@_NoahHiles) March 15, 2026
My column: https://t.co/UhWlCbN5oF
And why should he? Skenes has already started two MLB All-Star Games and thrown a scoreless inning both times, so he’s handled similar lineups before.
The reigning NL Cy Young winner has also dominated DR’s starters in the past. Their starting lineup is a combined 3-for-27 against him.
Furthermore, Skenes was terrific in his previous WBC outing on Monday, firing four shutout innings of one-hit ball against Mexico during pool play.
The 23-year-old righty has a career 1.96 ERA for a reason. He’s arguably the best pitcher in baseball and his electric stuff is borderline unhittable, regardless of who’s standing in the batter’s box.
More Pirates: How to Watch Paul Skenes in World Baseball Classic: Channel, Live Stream for USA vs. Dominican Republic
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