Paul Skenes’ 2026 season couldn’t have begun in worse fashion. The Pittsburgh Pirates ace was pulled after recording just two outs on Opening Day against the New York Mets, marking one of the shortest outings of his career.
Struggles pile up quickly
Skenes needed 47 pitches to get through just 2/3 of an inning, as the Mets’ lineup jumped on him early. He surrendered five earned runs before being taken out, unable to find rhythm or command.
Early Cy Young hopes take a hit
Entering the season as a favorite to win a second consecutive Cy Young award, Skenes was expected to set the tone on Opening Day. Instead, the rough outing immediately raised concerns about his form.
One of worst outings of his career
For a pitcher who has dominated since entering the league, the performance stood out for all the wrong reasons. It ranks among the most difficult starts of Skenes’ young career and puts early pressure on the Pirates’ rotation moving forward.
Paul Skenes’ numbers vs Mets
0.2 IP
5 ER
1 K
4 H
2 BB
37 Pitches
Reactions to Paul Skenes
Several fans and experts reacted to the Pirates star’s poor show. “Paul Skenes is awesome and I hope he has an incredible career. But I am enjoying all of this,” NFL insider Ian Rapoport wrote on X, platform formerly known as Twitter.
“Logan Webb getting shelled. Paul Skenes can’t make it out of the 1st. What happened to the game that I love,” another fan tweeted.
“Paul Skenes gets pulled in the 1st inning…And leaves to a loud ovation at Citi! WOW,” a third one added.
‘Make it to playoffs’
Ahead of opening day, Skenes spoke about his plans for this season. “We want to win the division. We want to make the playoffs. That’s it. How we do that, who knows?” the reigning NL Cy Young Award winner said Wednesday.
“I don’t want to put a number of games out there because that’s just putting a ceiling on us. We’ve got to go out there and play well every day.”
