Jake McCarthy delivered a performance against Paul Skenes that few hitters have managed, making rare history while introducing himself to a much larger baseball audience in the process.
While Skenes continues to dominate headlines as one of baseball’s most dominant young pitchers, McCarthy’s breakthrough moment against the Pittsburgh Pirates ace suddenly has fans asking the same question: Who exactly is Jake McCarthy?
Jake McCarthy’s Inside-the-Park Homer off Paul Skenes
McCarthy, the Colorado Rockies right fielder and table-setter in the lineup, drove an inside-the-park home run off Skenes on Saturday night at Coors Field — one of the rarest plays in modern baseball and a feat that demands a closer look at how it happened. McCarthy hit the fourth pitch of the game from Skenes, a four-seam fastball on a 2-1 count
But what made McCarthy’s inside-the-park homer off the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner even more remarkable was that it led off the game for the Rockies. There are exceedingly few instances of inside-the-park home runs to lead off games, though in one remarkable instance, Alcides Escobar of the Kansas City Royals accomplished the feat in Game 1 of the 2015 World Series.
Inside-the-park home runs average between 10 and 20 across the major leagues in any given season, according to Society for American Baseball Research. Pulling one off against Skenes adds a second layer of rarity. The Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander entered the game having held this Rockies roster to a collective .130 batting average across 46 career at-bats, as noted by DraftKings Network. McCarthy was the only Colorado hitter to log multiple hits against him heading into Saturday’s game.
Skenes has been one of the most dominant pitchers in the game since his 2024 debut. He entered Saturday carrying a 2.85 ERA, a 0.93 WHIP and 99 strikeouts across 82 innings. Earlier this season, he took a no-hit bid into the seventh inning against Colorado, striking out the first six batters he faced and retiring 14 consecutive before allowing the first baserunner. The Elias Sports Bureau confirmed Skenes as the first Pittsburgh pitcher since the expansion era began in 1961 to strike out the side in order three times in a single game that night.
GettyPaul Skenes had never allowed a game-opening inside-the-park home run until today.
Who Is Jake McCarthy? Rockies Outfielder’s Career
McCarthy, 28, grew up in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and attended the University of Virginia before the Arizona Diamondbacks selected him in the first round — 39th overall — of the 2018 MLB Draft, according to MLB.com. He made his major league debut with Arizona on Aug. 27, 2021, before eventually landing with Colorado, where he has become a consistent contributor at the plate and in the outfield.
Speed defines his game. McCarthy leads the Colorado Rockies in stolen bases this season with 11. That speed surfaced in a different, equally rare context just five weeks earlier, when McCarthy recorded the first unassisted double play by a left fielder in the major leagues since 2013 against these same Pittsburgh Pirates. He caught a sinking Bryan Reynolds line drive on a full sprint, then stepped on second base to double off Oneil Cruz, as the Associated Press reported. Elias confirmed it was the first such play since Boston’s Jonny Gomes accomplished the same on July 31, 2013.
Two historically rare plays against the same franchise in five weeks. Saturday’s inside-the-park homer off one of the game’s most dominant pitchers makes three.
Who Is Jake McCarthy? Rockies Star Makes Rare History vs Paul Skenes