The Pittsburgh Pirates season appeared to get off to a great start after Brandon Lowe hit a two-run homer in his first Bucco at-bat.
Then the bottom of the first happened.
For the first time in his career, Paul Skenes failed to pitch out of the first inning.
Everything that could have gone wrong went wrong for the Pirates in their 11-7 loss to the New York Mets on Thursday afternoon.
Skenes allowed five runs on four hits and two walks. He only recorded two outs and was pulled after 37 pitches.
One major
reason why is because of two major defensive lapses by Oneil Cruz.
Leading 2-1 with the bases loaded and one out, Skenes induced a fly ball to center field off Brett Baty. Cruz started in a few steps and misplayed what should have been the second out and a sacrifice fly.
Instead, Baty cleared the bases and wound up at third. One batter later, Marcus Semien hit a fly ball to center that Cruz couldn’t find in the sun.
Another run scored. The inexcusable errors immediately erased a great start in the top of the first inning and the Pirates couldn’t battle all the way back.
Skenes and the Pirates trailed 5-2. Skenes punched out Carson Benge but hit Francisco Alvarez. His day was over.
Yohan Ramirez responded with an impressive 2.1 innings and three strikeouts in relief, but the bullpen allowed another six runs.
Mason Montgomery, Isaac Mattson, and Justin Lawrence each allowed two runs.
The Pirates’ offense totaled 10 hits and showed some positive signs for the year.
In his team debut, Lowe etched himself into the history books. Lowe hit his second homer of the game in the top of the third and became the seventh Pirate to homer twice on Opening Day.
Henry Davis doubled down the left field line in the fifth for his first hit of the year to score Nick Gonzales, who recorded two hits.
Ryan O’Hearn hit his first round-tripper as a Pirate in the sixth. It was an impressive opposite-field shot by the new Buc, who hit 17 a year ago.
Lowe, O’Hearn, and Gonzales each recorded two hits.
The Pirates and Mets will battle in game two of the series on Saturday, with Mitch Keller taking the mound, looking for a bounce-back performance from the staff.
