(File Photo: Source for Photo: The crowd cheers and jeers as Pittsburgh Pirates pitcher Paul Skenes (30) exits the field after he was relieved in the first inning of an opening-day baseball game against the New York Mets, Thursday, March 26, 2026, in New York. (AP Photo/Angelina Katsanis)
NEW YORK (AP) — Paul Skenes thought he could get out of a jam in the first inning on opening day.
He never got the chance.
After giving up five runs and getting only two outs Thursday in an 11-7 loss at the New York Mets, the reigning NL Cy Young Award winner got the hook from manager Don Kelly after throwing just 37 pitches. It was by far the shortest of his 56 major league starts.
“I’m not as upset about this for me, personally, as people would probably think,” Skenes said. “Because they did a really good job. It was an abnormal outing.”
The 23-year-old allowed four hits and issued two walks, including one to leadoff hitter Francisco Lindor. Skenes also hit a batter with a pitch, and Kelly wondered if the right-hander’s fastball command wasn’t up to his usual standards.
The five runs Skenes allowed matched his career high. The two-time All-Star also gave up five in six innings on April 8, 2025, against St. Louis.
Skenes said Kelly told him something along the lines of it’s too early in the season to push it.
“He wants to stay out there and pitch,” Kelly said. “It’s a really tough thing going to get him in the first inning right there. The bottom of it is Paul’s health. You’re getting close to 40 pitches, yeah 37 pitches and Lindor had a seven-pitch at-bat that first at-bat. If he runs another 7-10, you’re into dangerous territory with the starting pitcher in one inning, so we had to make the move.”
It was not all on Skenes, who was hurt by shoddy defense from Oneil Cruz in center field.
Handed a 2-0 lead on Brandon Lowe’s two-run homer, Skenes walked Lindor in the bottom of the first. Juan Soto followed with a soft single, and Bo Bichette lofted a sacrifice fly.
Jorge Polanco nubbed an infield single, and Skenes walked Luis Robert Jr. on 10 pitches. After pitching coach Bill Murphy visited the mound, Cruz misplayed Brett Baty’s line drive into a bases-loaded triple, coming in a couple of steps before letting the ball sail over his head.
“(It) was one of those low line drives that it takes a little bit more time for me to read it, and they’re really tough balls to read because you don’t know if you’re going to have to come in or go back,” Cruz said through an interpreter. “It got in the sun a little bit at the end, but those are the ones that I will get better at, for sure.”
Marcus Semien then popped up to shallow center, but Cruz lost the ball in the sun and it dropped beside him for an RBI double that gave New York a 5-2 lead. Cruz is a converted shortstop who began playing center field in 2024 before becoming a full-time outfielder last year.
“That ball straight at him, he came in, got a bad read,” Kelly said. “He’s been working hard out there. He just needs to continue to get better. Then the one in the sun. He just lost it in the sun.”
Carson Benge struck out on three fastballs clocked 96-98 mph in his first big league plate appearance, but Skenes grazed No. 9 batter Francisco Alvarez with an 0-1 sinker and that was the end of his afternoon.
Mets fans roared as Skenes walked slowly off the mound toward the dugout.
“I felt good, but (we were) being precautionary,” Skenes said. “The pitch count wasn’t going to be super, super high today anyway.”
Skenes was coming off two starts for the U.S. at the World Baseball Classic. Kelly brushed off Skenes participating in that event as anything contributing to this outing.
Yohan Ramírez relieved and prevented further damage by retiring Lindor on a flyball with runners at second and third. Ramírez was the first of six Pirates relievers.
“Obviously not ideal to have a bullpen game on opening day,” Skenes said.
Skenes made his second opening-day start as he begins his third major league season. He became the eighth starting pitcher since at least 1906 to allow five or more runs in less than an inning in a season opener.
“It’s nice to get it out of the way,” Skenes said. “Just flush it.”
