Opening Day for the MLB was on Thursday, and the Mets started their 2026-2027 season with a slugfest against the Pirates in Queens.
The game started off with the Pirates Oneil Cruz hitting a bloop single, followed by a 337 ft home run by Brandon Lowe, much to the disarray of Mets fans. Lowe’s homer looked like a pop-up off the bat, and carried its way out to the shortest part of the ballpark in the right field corner. Soon after, Mets first time starter Freddie Peralta settled in and proceeded to strike out three in a row.
In the bottom of the first, the Mets surprisingly lit up Paul Skenes and knocked him out of the game only 37 pitches in. Skenes let up a walk and a base hit from Soto to start the game, and left runners on first and third with no one out. Bo Bichette, making his Mets debut, hit a sac fly for the first run of the Mets season. Later in the inning, Brett Baty hit a bases clearing triple that CF Oneil Cruz misplayed, making the score 4-2. Just one batter later, Marcus Semien hit it right at Oneil Cruz again, and he brutally lost the ball in the sun, leading to another Mets run. Skenes was then pulled early, and the first inning ended with a 5-2 score.
Pirates Brandon Lowe hit his second homer of the game in the top of the third inning, making it 5-3, Mets. Shortly thereafter, Lindor and Soto both got on base, and new addition Luis Robert hit a single to left to bring Lindor home, making it 6-3 Mets.
In the top of the 5th, the Pirates tacked on another run with a double through the gap, making it 6-4.
In the Bottom of the 5th, the Mets offense exploded, scoring 3 runs. Soto had a RBI single, followed by a RBI walk by Jorge Polanco. Then, Luis Robert simply stuck his bat out, and beat out a dribbler to first on a hustle play.
In the top of the 6th, Ryan O Hearn belted a homer to left, making it 9-5. Later that inning, Mets rookie Carson Benge had his first career hit, coming as a homer, going 385 feet to center. Just after, Francisco Alvarez hit a bomb 429 feet to left, making it 11-5.
The score stayed the same until the top of the 9th, when the Pirates gave the Mets a scare, knocking in two more runs. The game ended 11-7 Mets, a great win on opening day for the team.
