Paul Skenes Reacts to Pirates' Struggles After Being Pulled in 1st Inning During Loss to Mets

The Pittsburgh Pirates got off to a rough start to the 2026 campaign in an 11-7 loss to the New York Mets.

Starting pitcher Paul Skenes struggled tremendously, being pulled out of the game in the first inning. The reigning Cy Young Award winner credited the Mets' performance after the loss.

"They did a really good job," Skenes said. "In the moment, I don't know, maybe a little frustrating, but just gotta execute earlier."

Skenes added that he's not going to read into his early struggles too much.

"You've gotta look at it for what it is, there wasn't a ton of hard contact...the batting average on balls in play thing was super high today, that'll go down as the season goes on," he said.

Skenes gave up four hits and five runs while walking two batters and striking out one. He was pulled and replaced by Yohan Ramirez after recording just two outs.

Skenes didn't get the best support from the defense behind him, as center fielder Oneil Cruz fumbled a pair of fly balls. Cruz said after the game that the sun was in his eyes when he was trying to make the plays.

"It was really uncomfortable today to have the sun right in front of my face," Cruz told reporters through a translator. "I was trying my best, but it was kinda tough."

The Pirates used seven pitchers in total. Ramirez, Gregory Soto and Dennis Santana did not give up runs, but Mason Montgomery, Isaac Mattson and Justin Lawrence each gave up a pair.

The rough pitching day was especially unfortunate on a day when the Pirates' offense was clicking. Brandon Lowe had two homers and three RBI and Ryan O'Hearn put up another home run with two RBI. Pittsburgh had one of the worst offenses in baseball last year, so games with five-plus runs are a rare sight for the Pirates.

The good news for the Pirates is that there are 161 games left this year, and Skenes will almost certainly be able to turn things around after a disastrous first outing.