MLB Opening Day 2026: New-look Mets set tone for season ahead by clobbering Paul Skenes, Pirates
Carson Benge, Luis Robert Jr., Bo Bichette and Freddy Peralta delivered in their first game as Mets.
NEW YORK — When the New York Mets last exited a big-league ballpark, they did so in shame, with heads hung low. For the Queens ballclub, the final day of the 2025 season was an epic embarrassment, with a 4-0 loss to the Marlins the grand finale to a collapse of historic proportions. One of the most expensive rosters ever assembled would spend October on the couch.
It was a gut-churning moment for a franchise quite familiar with the perils of comic tragedy. It was also a catalyst for change. Of the 16 souls who trudged off the field that September day in Miami, just three — Francisco Lindor, Juan Soto and Francisco Alvarez — were penciled into the Mets’ 2026 Opening Day lineup.
The other 13 either departed in free agency or were traded, benched or relegated to the minors. In their place, a parade of fresh faces helped the Mets clobber reigning NL Cy Young winner Paul Skenes and the Pittsburgh Pirates 11-7 on Thursday at Citi Field . Draft your Yahoo Fantasy Baseball team for the 2026 MLB Season Rookie Carson Benge, making his MLB debut, hit the first homer of New York’s season (and his career).
Center fielder Luis Robert Jr. — acquired from the White Sox in January — had two knocks and a crucial first-inning walk. Bo Bichette — signed for big money in January — had a key first-inning sac fly and multiple über-competitive at-bats.
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