Slamming an opposing team’s catcher in the mid-game? Yes. A defensive miscue by a Pirates’ catcher led to a Mets’ broadcaster dishing out a harsh take on him. It all came together on Monday at Citi Field when the Pittsburgh Pirates went up against the New York Mets.

The Pirates’ star pitcher, Paul Skenes, held enough command on the pitching mound to make the Mets work for every inch. He only gave up one run over six solid innings. Paul Skenes was in full stride – nothing surprising there. However, on the defense side, the Pirates were simply struggling.

Now, in the seventh inning, the Pirates had a thin lead. Then came the defensive play moment by the Pirates’ catcher Henry Davis. It all started when Bryan Reynolds added another run on an RBI groundout.

Yet, that’s certainly not enough when you’re facing one of the toughest teams in the league, the ones who have the second-best record currently. And when it was the Mets’ turn, Juan Soto brought the game to a tie on a groundout. He had a motive to kill the little lead the Pirates had.

Soto got rookie Luisangel Acuña to second base. Then, Pete Alonso hit a single. After a botched play by Ke’Bryan Hayes, Acuna made his way towards home as the throw came in. It was Davis’ position that caught the attention of everyone in the field, but mostly, the Mets’ broadcaster, Ron Darling.

He criticized Davis, saying, “That was a bad choice. […] If he takes the throw in front of the plate, he’s taking the throw 3-4 feet in front of that. In a bang-bang play, that’s everything.” You see, each second counts. And if Davis had done it differently, let’s say positioning himself 3–4 feet ahead, he would’ve had a better chance to tag Acuña out.

Naturally, the Mets won the game by 4-3 with a walk-off hit that came in the ninth inning by Pete Alonso. For the Pirates, Skenes contributed well in handing the team a much-needed lead from the beginning. But if Davis had done what Darling called him out for, the Pirates could have possibly had winning odds in their favor.

Pirates’ star pitcher admires Mets’ top batters for their consistency

Paul Skenes delivered a stellar six-inning performance against the Mets in Monday’s matchup. Well, now you know how things went downhill for the Pirates even though they had the lead initially. After the matchup, Skenes had nothing but pure admiration for the team and their top three aces, Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto, and Pete Alonso.

Adding to that belief, in an interview with SNY, he described Lindor, Soto, and Alonso, saying, “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.” And it’s justified, given the fact that in Monday’s game, this trio performed remarkably.

Alonso, especially, gave the Mets a much-needed lead in the seventh against the Pirates with an RBI single.

Speaking for the Mets as a whole, Skenes stated, “When they’re bad, they’re still good.” No doubts there, right? Sitting at 28-15 in mid-May is pretty much commendable. It says a lot about Skenes, coming off a dominant defeat from the Mets and still crediting the team.

Alonso reportedly said to MLB.com, “We {the Mets} don’t give up. We fight to the last out.” And the Mets did prove it against the Pirates as they stayed strong till they secured a 4-3 walk-off win.

It’s phenomenal to see Skenes, even after losing, admiring the lineup that never fails to find their way to win at all costs.