and played together at LSU for one season.
But on Monday night at PNC Park in Pittsburgh, they were rivals. Skenes started on the mound for the Pirates while Crews batted eighth and started in center field for the Washington Nationals.
The former Tigers and top two picks in the 2023 MLB Draft faced each other twice. Skenes got the better of Crews by forcing a pair of weakly hit groundouts.
The last time Crews faced Skenes in a game was Feb. 21, 2021. Crews got the better of Skenes in that matchup, blasting his first collegiate home run off the Air Force closer in the ninth inning at Alex Box Stadium.
"I don't even remember if they faced each other or not (during fall and preseason practices)," LSU coach Jay Johnson said at his radio show during the game, "because Paul threw so hard I was worried if he accidentally hit Dylan, that would be very bad for our team."
Crews and Skenes' first showdown came in the second inning after a two-out bloop single from Nationals third baseman Paul DeJong extended the frame.Â
Skenes started the at-bat by grooving an 84 mph front door slider over the plate for strike one. His second pitch was a sweeper on the outer half that was called a ball. Crews fouled off the third pitch, a 97 mph fastball, before hitting a soft ground ball back to Skenes to end the inning.
The rematch didn't come until there were two outs in the fifth inning. Skenes got ahead in the count 0-2 with a sweeper and a changeup, but Crews worked a full count after the Pirates ace threw a changeup, a slider and a fastball that were out of the strike zone. Crews fouled off the sixth pitch of the at-bat — a 99 mph fastball — but Skenes was able to retire him on the next pitch, forcing a weak ground out to third base on a 95 mph splitter.
Skenes' night came to a close after the sixth inning when he allowed two runs (one earned) on 20 pitches, shooting his pitch count up to 99. He struck out six batters and allowed just three hits and one earned run.
Through four starts this season, Skenes has a 2.70 ERA and 26 strikeouts in 23â…“ innings.
Crews struck out in his third at-bat in the seventh inning. The former No. 2 overall pick has struggled to start this year, entering Monday night's game with a .128 batting average.
