The Cincinnati Reds, though, believe it with all their hearts and souls because Skenes has given them three reason to believe.
They faced the 6-foot-6 Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander for the third time this season and he was unhittable all three times.
On Sunday afternoon, he pitched five shutout innings on two hits, no walks and nine strikeouts as the Pirates shut down the Reds, 2-0, in Great American Ball Park.
In those three games, Skenes has pitched 17 innnings and given up one run, 10 hits and struck out 25, a 0.53 earned run average.
The pitching match-up was of the highest level. Hunter Greene hadn’t pitched since Aug. 13 when he came off the injured list Sunday to face the Pirates.
And he acquitted himself extremely well. Limited to three innings and 45 pitches, Greene held the Pirates to one run and two hits with a walk and three strikeouts.
He began the game by striking out Nick Gonzales on three pitches, an elegant start.
But he fell 2-and-1 behind on the next batter, Oneil Cruz, and centered a 95 mph fastball.
Cruz launched it 442 feet, a home run that ricocheted off the Toyota sign in right center. If it had been a Cincinnati hitter, a fan would have taken home the red Toyota truck. Maybe they should have given it to a Pirates fan.
Joey Brat followed with a single, then Greene retired seven of the next eight batters he faced, issuing a two-out walk in the third to Cruz.
Fernando Cruz replaced Greene in the fourth and stayed on into the fifth. Rookie Nick Yorke, playing his sixth major league game, hit his first major league home run on his 21st at bat leading off the fifth for a 2-0 Pirates lead that stood the test of time.
After getting two hits over five innings against Skenes, the Reds managed one more hit over the final four innings against four Pirates relief pitchers.
In the ninth they faced former Reds’ bullet-slinger Aroldis Chapman.
Jonathan India was first, 0 for 3 with three strikeouts against Chapman for his career. Make it 0 for 4 with four strikeouts.
Elly De La Cruz was next, 1 for 4 with three strikeouts against Chapman. Make it 1 for 5 with four strikeouts.
Tyler Stephenson was next, 0 for 4 with four strikeouts against Chapman. He didn’t strikeout, although he saw a 102 mph fastball for a strike from the 36-year-old left-hander. He grounded out to short to end it.
Chapman has pitched 10 innings against the Reds this season and given up three singles and struck out 21.
After Cruz gave up the home run to Yorke, he and Tony Santillan, Buck Farmer, Alexis Diaz and Brent Suter held the Pirates scoreless on one hit over the final five innings.
Suter ran into a jam in the ninth, filling the bases on a hit and two walks, but retired the dangerous Cruz on a ground ball.
During the three-game series, two of which were won by the Reds, Cruz hit two homers and was on base eight times.
The Reds put their leadoff hitter on base in the sixth and seventh inninga, but made nothing of it.
India led the sixth off with a single, but Pittsburgh catcher Joey Bart threw him out trying to steal second, only the second time this season India was caught stealing.
Spencer Steer drew a leadoff walk in the seventh but was erased when Ty France hit into an inning-ending double play.
The Reds, 76-81, need to win all five remaining games, all on the road in Cleveland and Chicago (Cubs), to avoid a losing season.
And they still have to hold off the last-place Pirates, just 2 1/2 games behind the fourth-place Reds.
Despite taking two of three, the Reds finished the season series 5-8 against the Pirates and have lost 29 of the last 45 against a team with six straight losing seasons.
Meanwhile, Skenes will make one more start, against the New York Yankees, in his bid to win National League Rookie of the Year.
Pitching for the offensively challenged Pirates, he is 11-3 with a 1.99 earned run average.
Amazingly, the Pirates are only 14-8 in games started by Skenes, mostly because in five of those eight losses they scored zero or one run.
Greene, 9-5 with a 2.83 earned run average, will make one more start.
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