NEW YORK — Paul Skenes’ attempt to retain his Cy Young Award commenced poorly.
Due partly to center fielder ONeil Cruz mishandling a pair of fly balls, Skenes managed only two outs prior to his removal from Thursday’s season-opening game versus the New York Mets—an astonishing outcome for an elite baseball pitcher.
Skenes’ pitching performance commenced with a walk to Francisco Lindor after seven pitches. Subsequently, Juan Soto hit a line drive single, advancing Lindor to third base, preceding Bo Bichette’s sacrifice fly that secured the Mets’ initial score.
A series of unfavorable events then unfolded for Skenes. Initially, Jorge Polanco got on base via a swinging bunt near Skenes, followed by Luis Robert Jr. drawing a 10-pitch walk, having fouled off five deliveries before prevailing in the encounter, thus filling the bases.
Next, the decisive setback occurred: Brett Baty launched a line drive toward center field, which Cruz ought to have secured. However, Cruz misinterpreted the ball’s trajectory and was unable to regain position, allowing the ball to fly past him for a triple that emptied the bases and extended the Mets’ lead to 4-2. Marcus Semien then hit Skenes’ subsequent pitch to center field for what should have been an easy fly out, yet Cruz lost sight of it in the glare of the sun, enabling Baty to score and push the score to 5-2.
Skenes managed a brief comeback, fanning Carson Benge using three consecutive fastballs, prior to hitting Francisco Alvarez with a pitch. This sequence led Pittsburgh Pirates manager Don Kelly to remove the ball from his premier right-handed pitcher, with two outs and base runners on first and second, marking the briefest appearance of Skenes’ professional tenure.
Skenes delivered a total of 37 pitches, with 26 being strikes. He managed merely five swing-and-miss pitches, concurrently, the Mets amassed 10 foul tips. The Mets forced him to exert significant effort, and the defensive support proved unhelpful.