Phillies Bring Out the Brooms and Mick Abel Dusts Off the Record Books
May 18, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Mick Abel (40) throws a pitch against the Pittsburgh Pirates in the third inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images
On a Sunday afternoon getaway game, Phillies prospect Mick Abel etched his name into the record book as the Phillies chipped their way to a series sweep against the cross-state rivals, the Pittsburgh Pirates. Though the early day brought disappointing news regarding Jose Alvarado‘s suspension, the early afternoon brought a pitcher’s duel between the NL Rookie of the Year, Paul Skenes, and the new kid on the block, Abel, who got the call for help due to Aaron Nola’s absence.
Abel started his first inning with some fire; he started Oneil Cruz with back-to-back fastballs at 98 and 99 miles per hour. He missed another heater outside but earned his first career major league strikeout with a well-thrown breaking ball that Cruz waved at.
Former Phillie, Andrew McCutchen, watched yet another 98 mph fastball go by but caught up to Abel’s fifth fastball of the day for a hard-hit single into right. Abel secured himself a backwards K with another breaking ball that froze Bryan Reynolds and ended the inning two batters later on a groundout.
A solid first inning for the new guy.
Sophomore sensation, Skenes, followed Abel’s half inning up with a few weakly hit balls off Bryson Stott and Trea Turner’s bats. Then, in a clash between first-round picks, Skenes got Bryce Harper to swing through three fastballs for his first strikeout of the day.
The pitcher’s duel continued in the second with Abel striking out the side utilizing his fastball, curveball, and slider mix. Skenes barked back with a pair of strikeouts against Kyle Schwarber and Max Kepler.
With that second inning, Abel became the first Phillies pitcher to record 5+ strikeouts in the first two innings of his debut. He then made it six strikeouts in the third. Though the Pirates threatened with two base hits, Abel managed to work out of it without letting a run cross.
The Phillies got their first base runner of the game with a Brandon Marsh walk, but the game remained scoreless through three.
The rookie continued his stellar debut with a scoreless fourth, racking up his seventh, eighth, and ninth strikeout in the following three innings as the Pirates struggled to get their offense going. That ninth strikeout tied the Phillies’ franchise record for most punchouts in an MLB debut, matching Curt Simmons‘s nine Ks in 1947.
Skenes was all the same for the rest of his first start against the Phillies. He shut the Phils down for the fourth, but in the fifth, the bottom half of the offense managed to squeak a run in.
It started with a first-pitch swing from Nick Castellanos that was booted around by Ke’Bryan Hayes but ultimately ruled a base hit. Kepler then poked a hit to the right side that put runners on the corners. Two batters later, Marsh beat out a fielder’s choice to get the only run of the game across.
After their fluke inning, the Phils only managed one base runner in Skenes’ next three innings pitched. That one base runner would be Harper, who flared a ball into centerfield for a single.
With that, the 2023 first overall pick would end his day with 8 innings pitched, three hits, nine strikeouts, and one earned run. It was nothing short of spectacular, and Skenes is certainly a joy for any baseball fan to watch, even if he’s shutting down your favorite team.
However, the headline of the game would be a different first-round pick from three years before Skenes was selected.
Abel, who was called up just to provide the Phillies with a single start in place of Aaron Nola, exceeded any and all expectations. His fastball was pumping, starting up in the high 90s before coming down to earth in the mid-90s, getting seven whiffs. Abel’s curveball was getting waved at from the very start; it produced five of his nine strikeouts. He showcased a few other pitches; his slider was thrown 14 times, getting three called strikes and a whiff. His sinker (11 pitches) and changeup (4 pitches) both made an appearance, though they weren’t as productive as his other breaking pitches.
Abel got handshakes after he cleaned up the sixth inning, gaining his record-tying strikeout, and finished the day with 6 innings pitched, five hits, nine strikeouts, and zero earned runs. A shutout for an MLB debut is certainly something to be content with.
The Phillies’ bullpen then came in to shut down the last three innings. Though Orion Kerkering had a shaky seventh, Matt Strahm put the Pirates down in order, and Jordan Romano struck out the side in the ninth for his eighth straight scoreless inning, and to secure the 1-0 win.
The two young pitchers put on a stellar performance, and it was certainly a great game to watch for those who appreciate the strategy of starting pitchers. Skenes may have dominated, but Abel got the win with one run’s worth of support, and the Phillies completed the sweep.
The Phillies will travel to Colorado to take on the eight-win Rockies, whom they swept earlier in the year. Cristopher Sanchez will get the ball to lead off their three-game series on Monday at 8:40 p.m.
Sean Regenye
Sean Regenye is a sophomore broadcast journalism major at Penn State University. He is a die-hard Philly sports fan and loves baseball, especially the Phillies.
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