PITTSBURGH — When it became clear that Pirates rookie right-hander Paul Skenes would make his fifth career big-league start against the Dodgers, it was natural to circle the game on the calendar as a definitive must-watch.
No matter who is on the mound, Dodgers first innings have become something of an event in and of themselves, considering the three MVPs atop the lineup in Mookie Betts, Shohei Ohtani and Freddie Freeman. And with each Skenes start early in his career feeling similarly momentous, it was a perfect storm of regular-season intrigue, priming Wednesday’s contest to be a bit more special than your average weeknight game in June.