Joe Ruffalo

The spirit of the 1990's was alive and well on Friday evening, as Edwin McCain, Collective Soul, and Hootie & the Blowfish brought their "Summer Camp With Trucks" 2024 Tour to Tinley Park's Credit Union 1 Amphitheatre. I had a great time covering this one for the venue!

It's been almost three months since I made a near three hour drive to watch Paul Skenes take the mound for the Triple-A Indianapolis Indians.

In just that short amount of time, a lot has changed. Skenes has gone from embarrassing MiLB hitters to becoming the most dominant pitcher in Major League Baseball. Since his debut on May 11th, Skenes hasn’t skipped a beat, remaining nearly unhittable in each of his 11 starts for the Pittsburgh Pirates. With a 6-0 record, the right hander has struck out 89 batters with 13 walks across 66⅓ innings this season. He has the most strikeouts with a sub-2.00 ERA through 11 starts since ERA became an official stat in 1913.

Ahead of Friday’s series opener on the South Side, Skenes appeared on the Dan Patrick Show to discuss his recent success and his first MLB All-Star selection. During the interview, he received a surprise call from NL Manager Torey Lovullo, informing him that he would be the starting pitcher for the 2024 MLB All-Star Game. Skenes will become only the fifth rookie pitcher to start an ASG, and the first in nearly 30 years.

Just hours after this exciting news, Paul joined his Pirate teammates in the outfield for batting practice in Chicago, which is where I took the photos included. It's amazing to see how humbly Skenes, at just 22 years old, continues to handle his rapid rise to fame. It's also inspiring to see the enthusiasm of a new generation of fans meeting one of the league’s most promising talents. Can’t wait to see Skenes battle against Judge, Soto, Henderson, and the rest of the American League squad in Arlington tomorrow.

📸: July 13th, 2024

“The Sho Continues”

Shohei Ohtani hits his 25th home run of the 2024 season in his first at-bat of the ballgame on Wednesday night in Chicago. As a result of the homer, Ohtani passed Roy Campanella, setting a new Dodgers franchise record by recording an RBI in his tenth consecutive game.

📸: June 26th, 2024