Remember pitching duels? Sadly for the Mariners and MLB, they’re disappearing
I suppose I shouldn’t complain about Pittsburgh’s Paul Skenes exit from his recent start against the Mariners.
After all, it was only after Skenes was replaced by the consonant-laden Carmen Mlodzinski in the sixth inning that Randy Arozarena hit the solo home run that decided Seattle’s 1-0 victory on Sunday.
As a Mariners fan, I was pleased with the result. As a baseball fan, however, I felt decidedly unfulfilled.
Skenes is one of the sport’s young stars. He’s a 6-foot-6 hoss of a man whose last name rhymes with beans. He started last year’s All-Star Game as a rookie, something which had not happened in more than 25 years.
He was matched up against George Kirby, an All-Star himself a year ago who has regained his form after missing the start of the season because of shoulder inflammation.
Through five innings, it was every bit the pitcher’s duel that was anticipated. Skenes had not allowed a run, striking out 10, and then—like Keyser Söze— he was gone. He’d thrown just 78 pitches. Kirby made it into the seventh, striking out nine before giving way to Carlos Vargas.
None of this should be considered surprising. Managers aren’t waiting for starting pitchers to get in trouble any more. They’re removed before they face trouble, giving way to bullpens stocked with power arms.
A variety of reasons justify this, the fear of injury from overuse being the most frequent.
It’s somewhat true, but it’s muddier than you might expect. See, it used to be that starting pitchers were trained to pace themselves in a game. To save some energy. Maybe even hold off on throwing a certain pitch until the second or even third time through the order so you can show hitters something different.
Now? Starting pitchers are pushed to throw harder and they leave games earlier. The job is increasingly to make it through the opponent’s lineup twice and then give way to bullpens that are chock full of relievers who alternate between a blazing fastball and a wipeout slider.
I’m not going to argue against the wisdom of this approach when it comes to winning games. I will tell you that it’s a problem for baseball, however.
Starting pitchers are some of the game’s marquee attractions. When Felix Hernandez was at his peak, Seattle radio stations celebrated the days he was on the mound like holidays. He was a reason to come to the park or turn on the television.
Watching the starter wade into the deep water of the seventh, eighth and God forbid maybe even ninth inning is one of the things I’ve enjoyed most about the sport. The 10-inning shutout that the Twins’ Jack Morris pitched in Game 7 of the 1991 World Series remains the best pitching performance I’ve ever seen.
Almost 30 years later, Blake Snell wasn’t given a chance to finish the sixth inning of his World Series start for Tampa Bay. He was removed with one out in the sixth inning of Game 6, having given up only two hits while holding the Dodgers scoreless. Snell was replaced by a reliever who promptly gave up a run-scoring double, threw a wild pitch and then surrendered a second run on a ground ball. The Dodgers won the game 3-1, clinching the World Series.
But my objection to the quick hook is not about the effectiveness of the strategy. Given the number of nerds who have seized control of the way baseball is played, I do not doubt a whole ream of statistics proves the tactic improves a team’s chances of winning a given game.
However, I am just as certain that this trend is sucking the soul out of what used to be one of the coolest things in the game: the ace starter. That fellow who swaggers to the mound once every five days and makes you feel a little better about life.
They’re pitching fewer innings now, and as a result they’re often absent when games are decided. Being almost perfect isn’t always enough to keep you in the game. There were six occasions last year in which a starter carried a no-hitter through at least the seventh only to be removed before he got a chance to complete it. Last year, Skenes was removed from two different games before he’d allowed a hit.
We’re losing the chance to watch some of baseball’s best players truly test themselves, and that’s really too bad.
Sunday was one of those pitching matchups you look forward to: Kirby vs. Skenes. For five innings, those two men delivered the kind of performances that make them stars.
And then Skenes was gone.
I did not feel relieved when this happened. I was disappointed.
The Mariners may have wound up winning the game, but I would have rather seen that duel between Skenes and Kirby continue. That’s not how baseball is played anymore though, and that’s too bad. For everyone.
Danny O’Neil was born in Oregon, the son of a logger, but had the good sense to attend college in Washington. He’s covered Seattle sports for 20 years, writing for two newspapers, one glossy magazine and hosting a daily radio show for eight years on KIRO 710 AM. You can subscribe to his free newsletter and find his other work at dannyoneil.com.
This story was originally published July 9, 2025 at 12:39 PM with the headline "Remember pitching duels? Sadly for the Mariners and MLB, they’re disappearing."