Mar 26, 2026; New York City, New York, USA; New York Mets designated hitter Brett Baty (7) reacts after hitting an RBI triple against the Pittsburgh Pirates during the first inning at Citi Field. Mandatory Credit: Brad Penner-Imagn Images
QUEENS, NY — In hopes of proving that last year truly means nothing, the New York Mets showed no mercy for reigning National League Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes and the Pittsburgh Pirates.
They sacked the superstar right-hander for five runs in the first inning and batted around — running him from the game after just two outs — sparking an 11-7 victory on Opening Day at Citi Field on Thursday afternoon.
The offensive explosion is tied for the second-most runs ever scored by the Mets (1-0) on Opening Day. They scored 12 in 1994 at Wrigley Field against the Cubs.
It was Skenes’ shortest start of his major-league career, eclipsing his previous mark by some margin. He lasted just two innings in the 2024 regular-season finale against the New York Yankees.
Brett Baty’s three-run triple punctuated the big opening frame on a day that also featured Luis Robert Jr. driving in a pair of runs and Carson Benge homering for his first-career hit in his MLB debut.
Had Skenes’ center fielder, Oneil Cruz, made a few plays, the Pittsburgh ace’s afternoon might have gone differently.
Given a 2-0 lead following Brandon Lowe’s two-run home run off Mets ace and debutant Freddy Peralta, Skenes walked Lindor and allowed a single to Juan Soto to put runners at the corners. The Mets halved the deficit with Bo Bichette’s sacrifice fly.
Following a Jorge Polanco infield single and a 10-pitch Luis Robert Jr. walk, Brett Baty hit a searing liner to center that Cruz initially stepped in to play, until realizing the ball was well over his head. It rolled to the wall to clear the bases with Baty standing on third with a triple.
The very next batter, Marcus Semien, hit a lazy pop fly to center, but Cruz lost it in the sun to score Baty from third and put the Mets up 5-2.
“That first inning was impressive,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “Right out of the gate with Lindor walking and then just going first to third to put pressure on. That’s some of the things that we talk about. If you want to beat guys like this, you have to play perfect baseball, pretty much… The whole inning, how everything unfolded, pretty impressive.”
Peralta’s Mets debut was not stellar, allowing four runs on six hits with seven strikeouts and zero walks. Most of the damage was being done by a pair of Lowe round-trippers, his second being a solo shot with two outs in the third inning to cut New York’s lead to 5-3.
“Other than the two mistakes he made to Lowe, he was pretty good,” Mendoza said. “They put together some really good at-bats. Fouled off some pitches, laid off some tough ones, ran his pitch count up. But he was able to get through five on a day when he missed a couple pitches.”
Robert picked up his first RBI as a Met in the fourth with a two-out single to score Lindor and momentarily restore a three-run lead, though a Henry David double in the top of the fifth canceled it out.
The Mets plated three in the fifth thanks to an RBI single from Soto, a bases-loaded walk by Polanco, and an infield, check-swing single by Robert. In the sixth, Benge took a first-pitch sweeper from Justin Lawrence into the bullpens in right-center, which was then followed up by a 429-foot blast to left from Francisco Alvarez.
“I kind of blacked out running around the bases,” Benge said. “I don’t really remember too much. I know I got it good off the bat.”
The Mets continue their dominant run on Opening Day, improving their all-time record to an MLB-best 42-23.
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