Two starting pitchers won Rookie of the Year awards in their respective leagues Monday. Paul Skenes of the Pittsburgh Pirates and Luis Gil of the New York Yankees were not unanimous selections, but they recorded a clean sweep at a position that hasn't produced two Rookies of the Year in the same season since 1981.

But the game featured an intriguing matchup within the matchup: two starting pitchers with vastly different backgrounds and histories who happened to be leading contenders for the Rookie of the Year Award in their respective leagues to the mound opposite each other.