Classy Cardinals fans give Paul Skenes the ovation he deserves after electric outing

Paul Skenes is the most exciting pitching prospect in baseball right now and St. Louis Cardinals fans respect ball. So even though he was pitching for the enemy at Busch Stadium on Tuesday, he left with a hero's ovation.

After Skenes went 6.1 innings with eight strikeouts, five hits and no runs allowed, the Cardinals faithful got to their feet in an awesome show of respect.

How cool is this?

Cardinals fans exude class with standing ovation for Paul Skenes

Cardinals fans are regarded as some of the best in baseball and it's things like this that strengthen that reputation.

Skenes had another outstanding outing and the fans in St. Louis knew the special talent they got to witness. He might not be the finished article, but it's clear he's destined for great things.

Down the line, those same fans may be less eager to acknowledge Skenes' ability. He's likely to be a thorn in their side for years to come. But there's no bad blood for now.

And who knows, maybe a few years down the line, Skenes will remember that ovation if he's ever on the market and searching for a new home.

The Cardinals had their own pitcher to celebrate on Tuesday night as well. Miles Mikolas had an even better night than his counterpart, making it into the sixth inning with a perfect game intact and giving up his first hit in the seventh. He left the game with six strikeouts and one hit allowed in 7.0 innings.

The pitchers' duel set up a tense ending as the Pirates finally broke through with two runs in the top of the ninth. Nolan Gorman hit a home run to start the bottom of the inning but St. Louis couldn't find another run to force extra innings or win the game.