PITTSBURGH – There's an old baseball saying that the only momentum in this game is the next day's starting pitcher. If that pitcher happens to be Paul Skenes, then the Pittsburgh Pirates are riding a tidal wave.

The reigning National League Cy Young Award winner has been nothing short of spectacular in his last two outings, even by his own lofty standards. On Tuesday night at PNC Park, Skenes delivered a masterclass performance, leading the Pirates to a 3-1 victory over the Colorado Rockies. He carried a no-hitter into the seventh inning before settling for two hits over eight scoreless frames, striking out 10 without issuing a single walk.

That gem came just one week after another dominant display in Phoenix, where Skenes also tossed two-hit ball over eight shutout innings in a 1-0 win against the Arizona Diamondbacks. In that start, he fanned seven batters and walked none, taking a no-hit bid into the sixth inning.

According to the Elias Sports Bureau, Skenes has joined rarefied air. He is just the fourth pitcher in the Modern Era (since 1900) to log at least eight scoreless innings while allowing two or fewer hits and zero walks in consecutive starts. The exclusive club includes Hall of Famer Cy Young (1905), Billy Pierce (1958), and Mat Latos (2010).

Pirates manager Don Kelly can't help but draw comparisons to his playing days with the 2011 Detroit Tigers, when Justin Verlander captured both the AL MVP and Cy Young awards. "Every time he took the mound, you were shocked when he gave up a hit," Kelly recalled. "Paul is on that type of run right now. The way he's commanding the zone, mixing all his pitches—it's impressive to watch."

But ask Skenes about his historic roll, and he'll quickly dismiss the notion of momentum altogether. "Every five days it's a brand-new thing," he said, staying true to the disciplined, pitch-by-pitch mentality that has made him one of baseball's most dominant arms.