Paul Skenes gives honest opinion on Mets' million-dollar superstar trio

Paul Skenes and the Pittsburgh Pirates lost 4-3 against a star-studded New York Mets lineup despite the reigning NL Rookie of the Year's solid outing from the mound.

Skenes went six innings deep, allowing just one earned run over six hits with six strikeouts. However, it wasn't enough, as Pete Alonso's walk-off RBI got the Mets over the line in a hard-fought contest.

The Mets had signed Juan Soto to a $765 million deal in the offseason to bolster an offense that also features Francisco Lindor and Pete Alonso. However, Skenes kept the trio in check, conceding one hit in their combined eight plate appearances against the Pirates ace on Monday.

But the young flamethrower acknowledged the quality of the trio on Tuesday.

"When they're bad, they're still good," Skenes said. "All three of those guys are those guys. Over the course of a season, guys are going to slump a little bit. Their slumps aren't slumps."

The Mets clinched the series after a second consecutive one-run victory against the Pirates, winning 2-1 on Tuesday. Soto drove in a run for the team while Lindor and Alonso went hitless in the win.

Although Soto has been lagging behind Lindor and Alonso, the Dominican slugger seems to be heating at the plate as the Mets continue to lead the National League East.

Soto is .255 with eight homers and 20 RBIs, while Lindor is batting .302 with nine home runs and 26 RBIs. Alonso, leading the offense since re-signing with the team in the offseason, is batting .310 with 36 RBIs and nine homers.

About the author

Chaitanya Prakash is an editor who covers US Sports at Sportskeeda. His first brush with sportswriting was in 2012 when the greatest football manager of all time, Sir Alex Ferguson, bid farewell to the beautiful game.

Although having started out professionally as a cricket writer in 2022, Chaitanya's curiosity and indiscriminate interest in all sports in general eventually introduced him to America's favorite pastime.

While Chaitanya's favorite player from the current crop is the dynamic Venezuelan Ronald Acuna Jr., his all-time favorite, however, is Pedro Martinez, for his self-belief and consistency. He also rates Jose Bautista's iconic bat flip in 2015 as his favorite moment in baseball history.

Chaitanya specializes in reporting on technical aspects of the game or analyzing patterns behind specific plays. He also likes pondering over players' self-assessments following the conclusion of a game as it helps him get an idea of how they think about the sport in general.

When not cheering for his favorites across sports, Chaitanya likes being transported to the past through a good war documentary or a historical documentary in general.

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Edited by Chaitanya Prakash