Paul Skenes is the new Tungsten Arm O’Doyle

Someone needs to go get Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes some help. Or maybe a hug, at least.

Skenes can make an argument for being the best pitcher in the game, in just his second season. He’s eighth among pitchers in strikeouts, his 2.05 ERA is second in the NL and he’s one of nine players in the league so far with a complete game under their belt. If we want to talk WAR as a pitcher, Skenes is at the top of the NL.

In his latest start against the Houston Astros, Skenes went eight innings, gave up three hits and one earned run, but struck out eight players and also did this:

The Pirates lost 3-0.

Skenes is the embodiment of the “fancy car in a mobile home” meme, because he’s breaking records and brains with his pitching, while the Pirates swing at everything but the ball on the other side. He can’t provide his own run support, so he has to go back out there after watching the Pirates (who are 26th in batting average as a team, 25th in hits and have only one more run scored as a team than the Colorado Rockies…who are 11-50) fart around at the plate.

According to Codify, in Skenes’ 13 starts he’s only allowed 19 runs, but the Pirates have lost eight of those games. What Skenes is doing could be considered historic, because there haven’t been many people to be as dominant as him while watching his teammates fall apart.

We have a new Tungsten Arm O’Doyle, and he resides in Pittsburgh.