Mets Notes: Paul Skenes on Opening Day loss, Carlos Mendoza talks how new players did defensively
Following the Mets' 11-7 Opening Day win over the Pirates, manager Carlos Mendoza and the players spoke about the game... Paul Skenes' tough day at CitiField What was supposed to be a pitcher's duel between Freddy Peralta and Skenes was not to be. While Peralta gritted his way through five innings, the Mets lineup did not let Skenes get through one.
Although the Mets offense was aided by some defensive mishaps, the lineup did its thing against the reigning NL CY Young winner. Skenes allowed five earned runs on four hits, two walks and a hit batter while picking up just two outs. After the game, Skenes could only applaud the Mets for how they handled him on Thursday.
"They did a really good job," Skenes said. "In the moment, maybe a little frustrating, just gotta execute earlier. They did a good job.
" Skenes threw just 37 pitches before manager Don Kelly pulled his ace. The Pirates skipper told Skenes that it's too early in the season to push it although the right-hander believed he could have gotten out of the inning, but understood his manager's logic. So, what exactly went wrong for Skenes?
"I walked the leadoff guy," Skenes said matter-of-factly. "Didn’t execute with two strikes when I needed a punchout or a double play there. Yea, a few things.