Pirates' Paul Skenes drops ‘stupid' take on All-Star Game
The Pittsburgh Pirates are not doing very well in the 2025 MLB regular season, but that doesn't mean they don't have must-watch talents. For one, they have one of the best hurlers in the game today in the form of Paul Skenes, who has as many seasons in the big leagues as MLB All-Star nods.
Advertisement
The former LSU Tigers star has been selected for his second MLB All-Star Game, which means there's a chance that he could also be starting for the second year in a row for the National League squad.
With Clayton Kershaw getting the special commissioner's selection to get a spot in the 2025 MLB All-Star Game and Los Angeles Dodgers skipper Dave Roberts set to manage the contest, there's a good reason to believe that the three-time Cy Young winner could start for the NL. That being said, Skenes expressed his readiness and willingness to toe the rubber first if given the call.
'I think it would be stupid to say no to that. It's a pretty cool opportunity,' Skenes said about his potential to be asked to start (h/t David Schoenfield of ESPN). 'I didn't make plans over the All-Star break or anything. So, yeah, I'm super stoked.'
Paul Skenes is the only representative of the Pirates at the All-Star Game, which he deserves. He has been a bright spot on an otherwise lethargic Pittsburgh squad that has won just 38 games and lost 53 through Sunday. Although he is only 4-7 in 19 starts, that record unfairly paints how incredible he has been on the mound for Pittsburgh.
Advertisement
On the season, he has a 1.94 ERA to go along with a 0.92WHIP and a total of 125 strikeouts. Run support has been hard to come by for Skenes, who is scheduled to have one more start before the break, which will be in the second game of a three-leg set on the road versus the Minnesota Twins this coming Saturday.
In the 2024 All-Star Game, Skenes, the first overall pick in the 2023 MLB draft, started for the NL, allowing zero runs and issuing a walk with no strikeouts through 16 pitches in a 5-3 loss to the American League side.
Related: MLB rumors: Jon Heyman hits Cubs with warning about possible Pirates trade
Related: Predicting Pirates' next big trade before deadline
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
21 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Connecticut Sun to propose new options to WNBA after league resisted sale that would relocate team to Boston: Report
After the WNBA pushed back on what would have been a record-breaking $325 million sale of the Connecticut Sun to a group led by Boston Celtics minority owner Steve Pagliuca, the organization is expected to counter with multiple proposals to the league, according to a Tuesday report from ESPN's Alexa Philippou and Ramona Shelburne. Pagliuca reportedly intended to buy the Sun and, as early as 2027, relocate the team to Boston, where it has already sold out TD Garden for select games two years in a row. But the W took issue with the potential transaction. The league office stated that the WNBA's board of governors makes relocation decisions, not individual teams. Also, since Boston didn't submit an expansion bid over the past three years, it doesn't have priority over interested cities that have already gone through the expansion process, according to the league, ESPN reported. Per ESPN's report, this frustrated the Mohegan tribe, which has owned the Sun since it purchased the Orlando Miracle after the 2002 season, rebranded the team and moved it to Uncasville, Connecticut. The tribe, according to ESPN sources, believes the W is trying to control how much the team is sold for and where it will be moved, whereas the tribe wants to maximize the franchise's value, just as it would in the sale to Pagliuca's group. After all, a professional women's team has never sold for as much as $325 million before. Prior to that bid being reported on Aug. 2, though, the WNBA offered to purchase the Sun for $250 million and not charge the new buyer an additional relocation fee, per ESPN, which explained that such an arrangement would allow the league to essentially hand the team off to one of its preferred expansion cities. The tribe, the W's first non-NBA owner, would like to keep the Sun in New England. Meanwhile, the WNBA would eventually consider a Boston team in a later round of expansion, per the ESPN report — which includes that the league prefers new Celtics owner Bill Chisholm owning the city's WNBA franchise, too — but Boston has to first submit an expansion bid in that seemingly separate timeline. In the meantime, the Mohegan tribe is proposing sale options to the league that reportedly include a full sale to Pagliuca's group; a sale to a group spearheaded by former Milwaukee Bucks owner Marc Lasry, who would move the Sun to Hartford, Connecticut, per ESPN; a sale of only minority stake in the franchise; or a sale to the league but for the record-breaking $325 million.
Yahoo
21 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Connecticut Sun to propose new options to WNBA after league resisted $325 million, Boston-based sale: Report
After the WNBA pushed back on what would have been a record-breaking $325 million sale of the Connecticut Sun to a group led by Boston Celtics minority owner Steve Pagliuca, the organization is expected to counter with multiple proposals to the league, according to a Tuesday report from ESPN's Alexa Philippou and Ramona Shelburne. Pagliuca reportedly intended to buy the Sun and, as early as 2027, relocate the team to Boston, where it has already sold out TD Garden for select games two years in a row. But the W took issue with the potential transaction. The league office stated that the WNBA's board of governors makes relocation decisions, not individual teams. Also, since Boston didn't submit an expansion bid over the past three years, it doesn't have priority over interested cities that have already gone through the expansion process, according to the league, ESPN reported. Per ESPN's report, this frustrated the Mohegan tribe, which has owned the Sun since it purchased the Orlando Miracle after the 2002 season, rebranded the team and moved it to Uncasville, Connecticut. The tribe, according to ESPN sources, believes the W is trying to control how much the team is sold for and where it will be moved, whereas the tribe wants to maximize the franchise's value, just as it would in the sale to Pagliuca's group. After all, a professional women's team has never sold for as much as $325 million before. Prior to that bid being reported on Aug. 2, though, the WNBA offered to purchase the Sun for $250 million and not charge the new buyer an additional relocation fee, per ESPN, which explained that such an arrangement would allow the league to essentially hand the team off to one of its preferred expansion cities. The tribe, the W's first non-NBA owner, would like to keep the Sun in New England. Meanwhile, the WNBA would eventually consider a Boston team in a later round of expansion, per the ESPN report — which includes that the league prefers new Celtics owner Bill Chisholm owning the city's WNBA franchise, too — but Boston has to first submit an expansion bid in that seemingly separate timeline. In the meantime, the Mohegan tribe is proposing sale options to the league that reportedly include a full sale to Pagliuca's group; a sale to a group spearheaded by former Milwaukee Bucks owner Marc Lasry, who would move the Sun to Hartford, Connecticut, per ESPN; a sale of only minority stake in the franchise; or a sale to the league but for the record-breaking $325 million.
Yahoo
21 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Padres' Luis Arraez is like the Warriors' Steph Curry of MLB in this amazing stat
Padres' Luis Arraez is like the Warriors' Steph Curry of MLB in this amazing stat originally appeared on The Sporting News No one in baseball makes contact like Luis Arraez. No one in basketball makes free throws like Stephen Curry. And that's what the San Diego Padres' lefty hitter and the Golden State Warriors' legendary sharpshooter have in common. On Tuesday, baseball stats expert Ryan Spaeder shared the following post on X: Arraez swings and misses at a lower rate than Curry misses free throws at, and Curry is the greatest free throw shooter by percentage in NBA history. For those keeping score at home: Baseballs are coming toward Arraez at insane speeds with incredible movement. The basket isn't moving anywhere for Curry. This is not to say Arraez is a future Hall of Fame lock like Curry. These are different skills, only one part of these magnificent games. MORE: Juan Soto, Josh Naylor and Cal Raleigh are making stolen bases cool again The thing Curry has that Arraez doesn't is the home run swing. Curry's shooting prowess extends beyond the 3-point arc, where he has made more trifectas than any player in the history of the planet. Arraez, in 3,109 career at bats, has hit 34 home runs. It's one of the lowest home run rates of any player to overlap with Arraez's career. That doesn't lessen how cool Arraez is. He's a throwback player. In an era of swinging for the fences, Arraez simply swings to hit the ball, and he does it excellently. He has three career batting titles. No, he's not Curry. But to watch someone perform a task at such prodigious rates is cool, even if it's just shooting free throws or the simple act of getting the bat to the baseball. When sports can crossover, it makes these games we love even that much more fun to follow. MORE: BYU's new starting QB is a true freshman named Bear who wears number 47
