Phillies' Bryce Harper Sends Message to Paul Skenes Before Pirates Game
The Philadelphia Phillies have been playing their best baseball of the season, going 14-4 under interim manager Don Mattingly after he replaced Rob Thomson earlier this month. Saturday's 6-0 win over the Pittsburgh Pirates pushed Philadelphia to 23-23, reaching .500 for the first time since mid-April.
Now the Phillies look to cap off Rivalry Weekend on Sunday at PNC Park, where Zack Wheeler squares off against reigning NL Cy Young winner Paul Skenes.
Bryce Harper has been a driving force behind the Phillies recent surge, hitting .281 with 11 home runs and 29 RBIs. Ahead of the finale, the first baseman offered high praise for the Pirates ace, drawing on his firsthand experience with Skenes as a Team USA teammate at the 2026 World Baseball Classic, per Cole Weintraub of NBC Sports Philadelphia.
Bryce Harper on Paul Skenes:
— Cole Weintraub (@WeintraubCole) May 17, 2026
"There hasn't been anything quite like [him]... His whole routine, from the way he starts it in the weight room, to the bullpen, to the mound - everything is very precise... He's been successful at it. I haven't really seen anything like it."
"There hasn't been anything quite like [him]… His whole routine, from the way he starts it in the weight room, to the bullpen, to the mound…" Harper said. "I haven't really seen anything like it.
Harper has been around elite young arms before, having played alongside Stephen Strasburg in Washington during Strasburg's dominant early years. Skenes is a different experience entirely, he said.
The numbers back it up: Skenes has not allowed a walk in his last five outings, pitching to a 1.98 earned run average with 56 strikeouts over nine starts. He enters Sunday with an MLB-leading 0.64 WHIP.
For a player like Harper, who has been a teammate and played against many of MLB's best, the praise carries weight. For Skenes, 23-year-old and just two seasons into his career, having Harper validate what he is building speakers to just how quickly the Pirates ace has separated himself from the rest of the field.
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This story was originally published May 17, 2026 at 11:29 AM.