Paul Skenes bounced Jazz Chisholm off the plate with an inside fastball that was just a touch shy of triple digits to end the second inning, then walked off the mound with a big smile.

The Pittsburgh Pirates right-hander had a perfect finish to a historic rookie season, striking out 23 pitches in two innings against all six New York Yankees he faced.

The win over MLB home runs leader Aaron Judge, who ended the first inning with a swing, and Chisholm’s appearance underscored the kind of performance that won Skenes, the No. 1 pick in the 2023 MLB Draft, the Rookie of the Year award in the National League could have brought.

The Pirates gave Skenes the support he needed, hitting five home runs for a 9-4 victory over the AL East champions on Saturday afternoon at Yankee Stadium, equaling their 2023 win total. The Pirates (76-85) will face the Yankees (93-68) in the season finale on Sunday at 3:05 p.m.

Skenes finished his first professional season with team-highs of 1.96 ERA, 0.95 WHIP, 170 strikeouts and a .198 batting average. He pitched a career-high 133 innings in 23 starts and tied for the team lead with 15 good starts and wins (11).

And Skenes outperformed Yankees starter Luis Gil, a 26-year-old right-hander who is among the leading AL Rookie of the Year candidates. Gil (15-7) allowed a season-high six runs on six hits – including four home runs – and one walk with five strikeouts in 5 2/3 innings.

Skenes wasted no time in reaching triple figures, throwing a 100.3 mph fastball in his fourth pitch to move the Yankees’ leadoff batter, Jasson Dominguez, to second.

Then Skenes put on a show against two AL MVP candidates for an All-Star Game rematch as Juan Soto drew a two-out walk before Skenes got Judge to hit a forceout to end the frame.

Soto, who ranks second only to Judge in on-base percentage, fouled three of the first four throws he faced. Then the switch-hitting Soto took a 99.8 mph inside fastball for what was called a third strike.

That brought the matchup everyone wanted: the 6-foot-6 Skenes versus Judge, the 6-7, 285-pound slugger who led the majors with 58 homers, 144 RBIs and a 1.163 OPS.

Skenes had two calls on his first two pitches with a 100.8 mph fastball followed by an 87 mph slider. Judge took another 100 mph fastball for a ball and then fouled a 99.5 mph fastball. So Skenes switched the ball and went to his break ball, getting Judge to chase an 86.5 mph sweeper for a strikeout.

The Yankees had no better luck against Skenes in the second inning, which began with a pop-up by Austin Wells against first baseman Jared Triolo in foul territory. Skenes threw a 99.2 mph fastball that broke Giancarlo Stanton’s bat for a dribbler back to the mound. Chisholm counted 2-2, but Skenes followed an 87 mph changeup with a 99.6 mph fastball inside for another call strike that ended with a swing.

Meanwhile, Gil retired the first five batters he faced before catcher Yasmani Grandal gave the Pirates a 1-0 lead by hitting a fastball at the top of the strike zone 347 feet below the right field line for his ninth home run in the second inning batted.

Skenes was replaced in the third by right wing Mike Burrows (1-0), a former top-10 prospect who was recalled Saturday to make his major league debut 18 months after Tommy John surgery and his earned his first MLB victory.

Anthony Rizzo completed an 11-pitch at-bat before hitting a sharp grounder to short where Nick Gonzales made a spectacular backhand stop. Burrows then recorded his first strikeout, bringing in Oswaldo Cabrera to make the score 0-2.

After the bat slipped from his hands and flew through the air on a practice swing, Gonzales added some pine resin and extended the Pirates’ lead with a solo shot in the fourth that had an exit velocity of 110.2 mph the wind shot and went 415 feet for his seventh home run.

It was the second straight game with a home run for Gonzales, who hit back-to-back blasts off Bryan Reynolds in the sixth inning of Friday’s 4-2 win over the Yankees.

After three perfect innings, Burrows struck out Soto with one out in the fourth. Burrows struck out Judge with a 2-2 fastball and then scored 2-2 against Wells when Soto tried to go to second on a pitch in the dirt but was caught by Grandal’s throw to Gonzales.

Grandal led off the fifth with a single to right, and Billy Cook hit a two-run shot from Gil to left to give the Pirates a 4-0 lead. It was Cook’s third home run in 43 at-bats since his promotion on September 8th.

The Yankees finally scored with two outs in the fifth when Chisholm smashed a first-pitch curveball 406 feet into the second deck and hit his 24th home run to cut the score to 4-1.

But the Pirates continued to go deep against Gil. After Joshua Palacios drew a two-out walk, Triolo went opposite field by sending a 1-2 fastball at the top of the strike zone 357 feet to right for his ninth home run and home run in the sixth for a 6-1 lead went to turn Gil off the game.

Burrows walked Jon Berti and Dominguez early in the sixth, but was then pulled back after Soto went to center. David Bednar came in and hit Judge with a full-count elevated fastball, but walked Wells to load the bases. Bednar got Stanton to hit a grounder up the middle that Gonzales stopped, but his errant backhand flip to second allowed Berti to score, cutting the Yankees’ lead to 6-2. Bednar hit Chisholm to end the frame.

The Yankees cut it to 6-3 in the seventh against left-hander Ryan Borucki when Soto singled to right to score Cabrera, but was tagged out when he ran over second base to end the inning.

Chisholm doubled to the right field corner to score Wells and make it 6-4 in the eighth. This ended Pirates substitute Dennis Santana’s streak of 21 consecutive appearances without allowing an earned run.

The Pirates extended their lead to 9-4 in the ninth when Grandal hit a single up the middle to score Palacios from second, and Nick Yorke followed by hitting a first-pitch sinker from the left foul spot. Rod hit for a two-run home run.

But the Yankees loaded the bases against lefty Jalen Beeks when Cabrera and Berti hit consecutive singles and Soto drew a walk. That led the Pirates to turn to Aroldis Chapman to face Judge, who had struck out four pitchers in his first four at-bats.

With the Bronx crowd chanting “MVP” for Judge, Chapman got Judge to blast a full-count fastball outside for a strikeout and then got Wells to fly to left to tie the game finish and secure his 14th save.