Paul Skenes of the Pittsburgh Pirates was the heralded fireballer who equaled the hype, to the point he started the All-Star Game just two months after making his big league debut.

Skenes beat out Jackson Chourio of the Milwaukee Brewers and Jackson Merril of the San Diego Padres for the NL Jackie Robinson Rookie of the Year award. Skenes had 23 first-place votes to finish first, while Merril finished second with seven first-place votes.

But the game featured an intriguing matchup within the matchup: two starting pitchers with vastly different backgrounds and histories who happened to be leading contenders for the Rookie of the Year Award in their respective leagues to the mound opposite each other.