Ali vs. Frazier. Hagler vs. Hearns. Skenes vs. Ohtani.
Two of the most powerful players in baseball went toe-to-toe on Wednesday and both landed big blows.
The bout began with Paul Skenes, the hard-throwing Pittsburgh Pirates rookie, blowing three pitches past two-time MVP Shohei Ohtani in the first inning for a strikeout. All three pitchers were over 100 m.p.h.
But Ohtani got his revenge in the top of the third.
Ohtani connected on a two-run home run off a 100.1 m.p.h fastball from Skenes. It was the hardest thrown pitch that Ohtani has homered off of, according to Sarah Langs of ESPN.
Ohtani then followed that up with a single off Skenes in the fifth on a pitch thrown at 98.1 m.p.h.
Skenes is one of the most exciting prospects in baseball while Ohtani is one of the most thrilling athletes in the sport.
Their first meeting more than lived up to the hype.