Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes was pulled after just two outs in Thursday's season opener against the New York Mets, a shocking end to his defense of the 2025 Cy Young Award. ESPN reported Skenes struggled from the start, issuing a seven-pitch walk to Francisco Lindor before Juan Soto lined a single, moving Lindor to third. Bo Bichette then drove in the Mets' first run with a sacrifice fly.

Skenes' outing quickly deteriorated further. Luis Robert Jr. reached on a swinging bunt, followed by a 10-pitch walk that loaded the bases. The backbreaking moment came when Brett Baty cracked a line drive to center field that should have been caught by ONeil Cruz.

Cruz misread the ball, and Baty's triple gave the Mets a 4-2 lead. Skenes managed to strike out Carson Benge with three fastballs before hitting Francisco Alvarez, prompting manager Don Kelly to remove him with runners on first and second and two outs. Skenes threw 37 pitches, 26 for strikes, but generated only five swing-and-misses while the Mets compiled 10 foul balls.

The defense behind him, particularly Cruz's errors, proved disastrous. Skenes' shortest career outing highlighted the immediate challenges facing a pitcher expected to anchor a playoff contender.