Paul Skenes is living up to the hype.

In fact, he’s blowing right by it.

The LSU product was taken by the Pittsburgh Pirates with the No. 1 overall selection in last year’s MLB Draft, and after dominating the minor leagues, they called him up earlier this season.

By the time he got the call, Skenes was the top pitching prospect in baseball and ranked third overall.

Now, he’s one of the best pitchers in the game.

Entering Friday night, the 22-year-old had a 2.06 ERA through nine MLB starts, allowing three runs or less in each of them. His only game allowing three earned runs was in his MLB debut.

He consistently hits 100 mph on the radar gun with devastating off-speed pitches, which has made him a strikeout machine.

Friday marked his 10th major league start, and the ninth in which he recorded at least seven strikeouts, setting the Major League record for the most in a player’s first 10 games to start a career – he struck out eight New York Mets in seven innings of two-run ball.

The only time he didn’t strike out that many batters was on May 23, his third start, when he had just three punchouts against the San Francisco Giants.

Paul Skenes of the Pittsburgh Pirates delivers a pitch in the first inning of a game against the New York Mets at PNC Park July 5, 2024, in Pittsburgh. (Justin Berl/Getty Images)

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Since then, it’s been seven straight outings with seven or more strikeouts, which also set a franchise record dating back to 1882.

His career-high in strikeouts so far is 11, which he did in his second start against the Chicago Cubs.

He and fellow rookie Jared Jones have helped the Pirates remain in the wild-card race. They entered the night four games out, but it looks like they found themselves an ace for years to come.

Paul Skenes of the Pittsburgh Pirates walks to the dugout after the top of the first inning during a game against the Tampa Bay Rays at PNC Park June 23, 2024, in Pittsburgh.  (Justin Berl/Getty Images)

His noted mustache and relationship with LSU gymnast Livvy Dunne have also helped him reach superstar status across the country, but he doesn’t need much off the field to be loved by Bucs fans.

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The Dodgers dugout sat in quiet dejection.

Two rows behind it, a Dodgers fan rose to his feet and began bowing down.

Rounding the bases before them was the club’s new No. 1 enemy, a decent MLB slugger who, during trips to Dodger Stadium in recent years, suddenly performs like a cross between Barry Bonds and Babe Ruth.

Once again, Christian Walker had the Dodgers’ number.

For a second straight night, he hit two home runs to lead the Arizona Diamondbacks to a 9-3, rubber-match win at Chavez Ravine.

“Obviously,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts sighed after the game, “he feels really comfortable in the box against us.”

Entering this week, Walker already had a reputation as a Dodgers killer. In 87 games against them, he’d hit 22 home runs and collected 50 RBIs. His numbers against franchise icon Clayton Kershaw were especially good, with a .294 batting average against the future Hall of Famer.

“I got some thoughts,” Kershaw, who remains sidelined following offseason shoulder surgery, told reporters Thursday afternoon about how the team could neutralize Walker in the series finale. “For our guys, not for you.”

Whatever Kershaw was thinking, it didn’t stop Walker.

After hitting one home run in Tuesday’s series opener, then two more in Wednesday’s rout of the Dodgers, Walker continued his weeklong tear with another explosion, taking his place among the Dodgers’ most fearsome foes. Since 2002, Walker’s 19 home runs at Dodger Stadium are tied for most by any visiting player, matching former Diamondbacks star Paul Goldschmidt. Among visiting players with at least 100 plate appearances in that span, Walker’s .783 slugging percentage is first, while his .341 batting average is second.

Both of Walker’s home runs Thursday came off rookie starter Landon Knack.

In the first inning, Walker followed a Joc Pederson home run with a solo blast, hammering a two-strike fastball at the bottom of the zone. In the third inning, Walker launched a two-run shot deep to left, opening a 4-0 lead on a hanging changeup Knack left over the plate.

“We just don’t make good pitches against him,” Roberts said. “That’s just the bottom line.”

The most telling moment of Walker’s Dodgers dominance might have come in the the fifth. With a runner on second, two outs and left-handed reliever Anthony Banda on the mound, Roberts raised four fingers from the dugout.

An intentional walk.

To a hitter who, in ballparks other than Dodger Stadium, was batting .257 with a .788 on-base-plus-slugging percentage this year.

“When we’re living it, it digs a little deeper,” Roberts said of the team’s frustrations with Walker, which were only amplified by sarcastic cheers from the crowd following the walk.

“He’s Babe Ruth against us,” the manager added.

While Walker drew one more walk the rest of the night — he finished two for three Thursday and eight for 13 in the series with five home runs and nine RBIs — his contributions were enough to key the Diamondbacks’ series-clinching win.

Dodgers starting pitcher Landon Knack sits alone in the dugout during the fourth inning Thursday.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

The Dodgers scored three runs in the fourth inning on a groundout from Kiké Hernández and a two-run single from Austin Barnes to cut it to 4-3. But after a fielding flub by Freddie Freeman in the fifth helped the Diamondbacks double their advantage, Arizona’s bullpen shut the door over the final five innings, while its lineup tacked on four insurance runs the ninth.

“We have shown how we’re gonna have to fight back,” outfielder Jason Heyward said of the team’s play over the last week, in which it dropped back-to-back series for the first time since late May. “We’re gonna have to figure out ways to do that and weather the storm.”

Of bigger concern for the Dodgers was Heyward, who exited after two innings because of left knee pain.

On Pederson’s home run in the first inning, Heyward injured his knee after leaping at the wall. Roberts said Heyward was unlikely to play Friday and was scheduled to get an MRI.

Dodgers right fielder Jason Heyward can’t reach a home-run ball hit by Arizona’s Joc Pederson in the first inning of the Dodgers’ 9-3 loss Thursday. Heyward later left the game with knee pain.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

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“As soon as I landed, it felt like one of those trust falls; it happened fast,” Heyward said. “Put my feet down and I was like ‘All right, this doesn’t feel great’ … You just kind of have to wait and see.”

Heyward took only one at-bat, grounding out in the first. The veteran has been slumping, just three for 35 in his last 12 games.

Nonetheless, the veteran remains a key part of the outfield platoon, playing most days in right field given the Dodgers’ heavy dose of opposing right-handed pitchers. Any extended absence might only amplify the Dodgers’ growing need to bolster their depth before the July 30 trade deadline.

Fans watch the Fourth of July fireworks show at Dodger Stadium following Thursday’s game.

(Gina Ferazzi / Los Angeles Times)

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The team’s sudden 2-4 slide — even when accounting for Walker’s dominance — has highlighted that dynamic enough on its own.

“We couldn’t do anything after that one big inning,” Roberts said, before evaluating his team’s last week bluntly: “It’s not pretty.”

One, two, three to the four … Snoop Doggy Dogg and C.J. Stroud are at the door.

If the NFL were to do over a draft, the Houston Texans quarterback might be the first overall pick.

Stroud led his squad to the playoffs with an outstanding rookie season, and it should surprise nobody if, and likely when, he is in the MVP conversation this season.

Before becoming one of the best young talents in the NFL, he was dominating youth football, but not just any league.

The league he played in, the Snoop Youth Football League, was founded by Snoop Dogg.

Stroud and Snoop are both Southern California natives, and Stroud is credited for his ability to “understand people for whatever they really are.”

“I’m able to kind of relate to people really well. God has blessed me with that skill,” Stroud recently told ESPN. 

When he left his original youth league to find more competition, Snoop’s league was a match.

“I was so competitive and wanted to win, so I was like, ‘I have to find a way to be a leader and relate to these guys.’ That was my first step. … It was good for me to learn, this is how you build a brotherhood. I wasn’t even thinking about that back then. But now that I’m older, that’s what that was,” he said.

Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud warms up before a 2024 AFC divisional round game against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore Jan. 20, 2024. (Tommy Gilligan/USA Today Sports)

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“The Snoop Dogg league was super instrumental in C.J.’s journey,” Stroud’s mother, Kimberly, said. “It was a village that raised C.J. Stroud, and it wasn’t just his mother. It was mainly God, but he put people on our path to help C.J. along his journey. The Snoop Dogg league was one of those.”

Stroud’s on-field talent speaks for itself, but Snoop is most impressed with Stroud’s character.

“It’s special because [Stroud] is exactly what we breed kids to be,” Snoop said. “Good students, good athletes, respecting their elders, their parents and being a great listener. C.J. was a great listener. That’s why he’s translating on that football field into a great leader. I like to get information from him because he’s the future. … So, to be able to tap in with the youth and stay active, that’s a gift, and I love the fact that my football league has created that.”

Snoop Dogg during WrestleMania Goes Hollywood at SoFi Stadium April 1, 2023, in Inglewood, Calif. (Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)

Stroud threw for 4,108 yards and 23 touchdowns his rookie season and figures to improve on each of those numbers after the Texans acquired Stefon Diggs in the offseason.

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