95TH MLB ALL-STAR GAME

July 15, 2025

Paul Skenes

Truist Park

National League

Press Conference

Q. Paul, was it any different this year compared to last year?

PAUL SKENES: Yeah, just a little more comfortable. It was hotter, and it was later, and the hitters were different. So that was about it.

Q. Were you trying to get three straight punch-outs?

PAUL SKENES: Yeah. I mean, that's what the All-Star Game is for. Every hitter is trying to hit a home run, and we're trying to strike everybody out. So, I mean, just trying to get them out. Didn't want to walk anybody. That pissed me off last year. So I don't know. It's a learning experience.

Q. Paul, did you think Oneil had a shot yesterday?

A. I did. Yeah, I mean, he got a little bit tired, obviously. It's kind of his build, you know. Like, he produces so much torque. At some point, he's going to get tired. So his first round was unbelievable to watch. He hit it, what, 513? It was pretty cool to watch.

Q. You said by the end of the week, Kershaw was going to be sick of you. What were the interactions like? What was it like to be around him?

PAUL SKENES: I kept my distance a little bit. Our lockers were next to each other. I didn't get any time, really, to talk to him yesterday. But talked to him a little bit today. He's such a class act. It's just so impressive. Obviously, what he's done in the game. The human that he is.

We were in the waiting room before the red carpet today. He had all his kids. Watching him be a dad, too, it was just, it was cool. It was a cool experience for me.

Q. Compared to last year, this year, you are wearing the Pirates uniform.

PAUL SKENES: I love it. I grew up watching All-Star games where they were all wearing their own uniform. It's one of the quirky, traditional parts of our game because I don't think any of the other sports wear their uniforms. Really cool and glad we went back to that tradition.

Q. Paul, seems like you've been trying to modulate your velocity a little more this year and you kind of let it go a little bit in a setting like this.

PAUL SKENES: Yeah. I don't know what I was throwing. I was throwing every pitch as hard as I could, hoping it would land in the strike zone. Yeah, got one inning. It's funny, though, because last year I was coming up and some of my teammates are, like, how hard are you going to throw, 105? I'm like, we'll see. It's the same velo I've been throwing the whole time. It's how I'm conditioned.

Q. It was max effort, though?

PAUL SKENES: Every game is max effort. Every pitch is max effort. I don't know, emptying the tank a little bit more.

Q. Do you think about challenging anything?

PAUL SKENES: I think I was throwing a fair amount of strikes and my misses were not good. So I didn't get any of those opportunities.

Q. What are you going to remember from this trip, your second one?

PAUL SKENES: I mean, Cruzy in the Home Run Derby. That didn't happen last year. That was obviously a once in a lifetime opportunity for him, but for me to be able to watch as his teammate, that was pretty cool. And then, just, a little -- a few different faces from last year. Obviously, Kershaw. Matthew Boyd, guys like that, Yamamoto. They were in there, and being able to interact with them was pretty cool.