The Pittsburgh Pirates entered an Opening Day matchup against the New York Mets with plans to secure an early win. This did not happen as a number of disastrous plays led to the team pulling starting pitcher Paul Skenes in the first inning.
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Skenes, who has an overall win-loss record of 21-13 across two seasons, threw 37 pitches during the opening inning against the Mets. He threw 26 strikes and gave up four hits.
The problem for the Cy Young Award winner is that these hits led to five runs in the opening inning. The Mets took a 5-2 lead before the Pirates pulled Skenes out of the game.
not the start to 2026 Paul Skenes envisioned pic.twitter.com/83om73qh7e
— Baseball Quotes (@BaseballQuotes1) March 26, 2026
"He's never had a five-run inning, and he didn't have one last year," a member of the broadcast team said as manager Don Kelly walked out toward the mound.
"And that's gonna be it. Don Kelly has seen enough, and Paul Skenes will be done after 37 pitches and two-thirds of an inning on Opening Day."
The third-year pitcher is not the only one who had some struggles during the opening inning at Citi Field in Flushing, New York. Centerfielder Oneil Cruz had consecutive bad plays that led to four runs for the Mets.
The first play occurred as Mets player Brett Baty launched a pitch from Skenes to deep center field. Cruz initially moved toward the infield before turning and running toward the boundary wall.
A disaster sequence (consecutive plays) for Pirates CF Oneil Cruz in the first inning vs the Mets.
It played into Paul Skenes getting pulled in the first inning after 37 pitches.
NBC'S Matt Vasgersian: "A NIGHTMARISH START FOR ONEIL CRUZ ON OPENING DAY! OH NO!" ⚾️😬🎙️ #MLB pic.twitter.com/z73ZmtNWJi
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) March 26, 2026
The ball bounced behind Cruz for a triple. The Mets had previously loaded the bases, so this also sent three players to home plate. Luis Robert, Jorge Polanco, and Juan Soto all scored.
One play later, Marcus Semien launched another pitch to center field. Cruz ran to make the catch for a potential out, but he appeared to lose the ball in the sun. It bounced on the grass next to him as Semien made his way to second base. Baty scored on this play to make the score 5-2.
The change at pitcher did not necessarily prevent more big plays. Although it slowed the Mets down for a bit. Mason Montgomery took over as the game continued and the Pirates kept the Mets at five points.
However, the situation changed in the fourth inning. Montgomery threw a pitch to Luis Robert Jr., who hit a single toward the shortstop. Francisco Lindor used the play to make his way to home plate and add another point to the Mets' total.
