Category: MLB

It looked like Rays fans were set for a joyous Opening Day, with the reshaped lineup scoring seven runs on a whopping 17 hits. Jonathan Aranda homered, multiple players had three-hit days, Junior Caminero reached base four times while every Cardinals pitcher tried to pitch around him.

This game could have been a statement of intent from a group hungry to get back to the postseason in a highly-competitive AL East.

But the story of Thursday’s opener is how the Rays lost in spite of their offensive output.

Fans spent most of Thursday trying to find out who was broadcasting the game, only to flip to the correct channel as the Cardinals were batting around.

Rasmussen went five strong innings to start, allowing just one run on a solo homer from JJ Wetherholt. After the Rays big inning in the top of the sixth to give them a 7-1 lead, Kevin Cash rightfully felt comfortable going to his bullpen to pitch the final four innings.

He turned to Ian Seymour, who was effective in his rookie season a year ago in a mixed role. Seymour’s 2026 campaign couldn’t have started any worse. He gave up five consecutive hits, including doubles to Masyn Winn and Jordan Walker. All five of the runners that reached base came around to score, as did three more.

After Seymour quickly let the Cardinals back in the game, Cash then turned to two of his high-leverage arms, Garrett Cleavinger and Griffin Jax. Cleavinger let the hit parade continue, allowing singles to Pedro Pages and Victor Scott II. A sac fly from Wetherholt made it 7-6, and then it was time for Jax. While there are no announced roles for any Rays reliever, it was fair to assume that Jax would be the top reliever to start the season with Edwin Uceta sidelined.

The first batter he faced was DH Ivan Herrera, who was able to tie the game with another sac fly to right field. In stepped Alec Burleson, the Cardinals’ most-dangerous hitter against right-handed pitching. Jax got him into a two-strike count, making good use of his sweeper, but when he grooved a fastball Burleson was sitting on it, and launched it into the right field stands to give St. Louis a two-run lead and cap off an eight-run inning.

It’s game one. I’m not here to tell you the season is over, but after last year when Rays fans were frustrated that the bullpen could never hold a one- or two-run lead, it was even more soul-crushing to watch them completely capitulate against a rebuilding squad in the Cardinals.

Now, we must sit in our misery on Friday’s off-day, before the series resumes on Saturday. And instead of ace Drew Rasmussen in the mound, we’ll have to prepare to watch Joe Boyle’s electric stuff and erratic command. Boyle is not known for working deep into games, so we’re likely to see another four or more innings from this group.

Let’s get positive for a minute. On the position player side, Kevin Cash seems to have a bench he trusts, and a roster that he can tinker with to get the most out of role players like Ben Williamson, Nick Fortes, and Richie Palacios. He can rely on his three regulars, and mix-and-match the rest. And on Thursday, the Rays’ offensive approach was clear: see ball, hit ball. They swung early and often, and made lots of contact.

Even if the bullpen does not take giant strides in 2026, I’d wager that the Rays will win most of their games moving forward if they get anywhere near 17 hits.

Tomorrow is Opening Day for the Rockies, which means we can officially close the door on spring training 2026. However, it’s still worth reflecting on in hopes of predicting what they might do in the regular season.

On Tuesday, we asked you to grade the Rockies’ spring training. More than half of you gave them a solid B, but 95% of you had them passing the test (C or better). Zero people gave them a failing grade, which I think is a good indicator of fans’ views of the team compared to a year ago.

However, the games start counting today and we will finally get to see how much the Rockies are able to improve after their new and improved spring training regimen and front office refresh.

Are you surprised by the results? Do you still agree with how you voted? Let us know in the comments!

Brought to you by FanDuel Sportsbook, the official sportsbook partner of SB Nation.

LOS ANGELES — Part of winning the World Series, let alone two in a row, is that you get two days’ worth of pregame ceremonies to open the season. It’s not exactly the routine baseball players are used to, but this might be a nearly literal case of what Dodgers manager Dave Roberts likes to call champagne problems.

Opening day ceremonies included introducing the entire team, with the players entering on a blue carpet from center field. Two members of the starting lineup — Freddie Freeman and Miguel Rojas — were conspicuously absent when their names were called, but they were part of a planned skit with actor Will Ferrell.

A overly long video played on the scoreboards at Dodger Stadium with Ferrell taking a stadium tour, with the lone saving grace team historian Mark Langill doing yeomen’s work as a tour guide in the piece. The video ends with Ferrell finding the championship trophies from 2024 and 2025, with Freeman and Rojas finding him.

After the video, Ferrell drove a blue convertible onto the field at Dodger Stadium, with Freeman and Rojas each holding a trophy to complete the production.

In all, the festivities, which included raising the championship banner and 2025 World Series emblem at the stadium, took 45 minutes before starting on time at 5:30 p.m. PT. The Dodgers will have another ceremony on Friday to deliver all the championship rings. That will start at 6:20 p.m., 50 minutes before first pitch.

“Hopefully the clubhouse is staying present, and just trying to win a game that night. It’s out there, but you’ve kind of got to try and block it out and focus on playing,” manager Dave Roberts said before Thursday’s game. “But understandably so, we put ourselves in a good spot that people want to talk about it, and that’s a good thing.”

Much earlier on Thursday, the Dodgers unveiled a hype video introducing the season, narrated by Jason Bateman.

“What’s wrong with being the bad guy?” Bateman asked. “If being the best makes you bad, then so be it.”

Roberts was asked about the video before the game.

“The organization did that? Alright, well they said that we’re the bad guys. That’s self-proclaimed, so I guess I’m going to embrace it,” he said with a smile. “I don’t know. I guess people like a villain.”

Freddy Peralta avoided walks and had the Pirates swinging and missing, but two homers allowed ultimately turned what could have been a special Mets debut into something ordinary. 

Twice, Brandon Lowe homered against him.

That accounted for three of the four runs Peralta surrendered in the Mets’ 11-7 victory in the season opener at Citi Field. 

“I don’t see the first one as a mistake, but it’s part of the game,” Peralta said of the curveball that Lowe lofted just beyond Carson Benge’s outstretched glove above the right field fence. “The other one, yeah, it was a mistake.” 

Peralta allowed four earned runs on six hits with seven strikeouts over five innings. He didn’t walk a batter in the 80-pitch performance. 

The ace right-hander, who arrived in a January trade with the Brewers, appeared loose heading into his start, according to Carlos Mendoza. 

“It’s still the same smile when he came from the bullpen, right before he took the field,” Mendoza said. “That’s what impressed me the most. You see his personality and it’s Opening Day, he’s about to take the field and he’s got a smile on his face, so he’s used to it.” 

Peralta was thankful the Mets lineup responded, scoring five runs in the first inning against Paul Skenes, who was removed after 37 pitches in the frame. Lowe’s initial homer had sunk the Mets in a 2-0 hole. 

“I [told] them before the game today, I said, ‘I need some runs from you guys,’ ” Peralta said. “It wasn’t [Skenes’] day today.” 

Mike Tauchman, after undergoing surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his left knee, is facing a return-to-play time of about six weeks.

The veteran outfielder was in position to claim a spot on the Mets’ Opening Day roster before leaving Saturday’s spring training game with discomfort in the knee.

The Mets selected Jared Young to the roster in that reserve outfield spot. 

The five runs the Mets scored in the first inning represented the most in franchise history in a season opener.

Their 10 plate appearances in the inning were their most in a frame on Opening Day since the fifth inning in 2018 against the Cardinals. 

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."

Skenes said he'll just flush the loss moving forward and pointed out how there was a lot of soft contact by Mets hitters in the first inning that ultimately led to runs. 

"You've gotta look at it for what it is, there wasn't a ton of hard contact," Skenes said. "Leadoff walk is not great. Some balls landed, the Polanco groundball. You know, stuff like that. The batting average on balls in play thing was super high today, that'll go down as the season goes on."

He's not wrong.

Two of the four hits had exit velocities lower than 89 mph, while the other two hits were a result of Oneil Cruz's defensive misplays. But still, the Mets lineup made Skenes work with long at-bats, working walks and putting the ball in play, causing the worst start in the youngster's MLB career.

"Just competitive," Bichette said of the at-bats in the first inning. "The goal of our team is to be the most competitive at-bats you see every day. And we did that for sure."

Paul Skenes does not get out of the first inning on Opening Day against the Mets pic.twitter.com/4qaZs9P3uB

— SNY (@SNYtv) March 26, 2026

New positions, no problem

Bo Bichette and Jorge Polanco's new positions were a big storyline this offseason, and their defensive abilities were put to the test for the first time on Thursday.

Bichette, starting at third base, and Polanco at first base, started at their respective positions for the first time in a real game and they did well. There were no errors or misplays by either, and in fact, they made it look routine for the most part.

Mendoza was asked about both players' first games in their new positions after the win.

"I thought both were pretty good," he said. "The few chances that they got, that one-hopper to Bo, the way he reacted, got up, set his feet, made a good throw. The one that he came in…threw it on the run, little off line up the line, but it was good for Polanco to come off the base, apply the tag.

"Routine groundballs for Polanco, couple of hard ones. The whole thing, the positioning, the ability to communicate from pitch-to-pitch was good to see."

The additions of Bichette and Polanco were part of president of baseball operations David Stearns' offseason plan to be better defensively. And while on paper, flipping the positions of two starters counters that philosophy, it worked out at least for one game.

Much has been made this preseason about Daniel Susac winning the backup catcher role for the San Francisco Giants. Susac, a northern California native whose older brother, Andrew, won a World Series as Buster Posey’s backup, entered camp as the presumptive favorite due to his Rule 5 status. As a Rule 5 selection, Susac needs to stay on the active roster for the entirety of the year, and cannot be optioned. If the Giants wish to move him off the active roster for any reason other than an injury, he’ll be returned to the Athletics system.

Susac did, indeed, win the job, beating out veteran Eric Haase and contact-maven prospect Jesús Rodríguez. He’ll be the backup catcher for the foreseeable future, and the Giants will surely hope that he can hang onto the role all year, and stay in the system.

But while Susac got the bulk of the attention, he wasn’t the only Rule 5 pick whose fate impacts the Giants. You might remember that San Francisco lost a pair of right-handed pitchers in the Major League portion of the December draft, Spencer Miles and Ryan Watson.

And both of those players made their respective teams’ Opening Day rosters, meaning they won’t be returned to the Giants … not yet, at least.

With respect to Watson, Miles is the notable name of the pair, and was taken by the defending American League champion Toronto Blue Jays. A fourth-round pick in 2022 out of Missouri, talent has never been an issue for Miles … but health has. He pitched 7.1 innings in ‘22 after getting drafted, but missed the entirety of the 2023 season. He pitched 7.1 more innings in 2024 — all at the Complex League — but lost all of 2025. As such, the 25-year old has just 14.2 innings of professional baseball to his name, and none above Low-A. But a fantastic showing in the Arizona Fall League — with mesmerizing metrics to back it up — earned him a look from the Blue Jays.

He ran with it in the spring, striking out 11 batters in 9.2 innings, with a 3.72 ERA. It came down to the wire, but he made the Opening Day roster, and now will become the rare player to appear in the Majors before playing in AAA, AA, or even High-A.

But that’s only the first step. There were warning flags in Miles’ performance: he walked five batters, hit another, and ceded a pair of home runs. And he’s joining a Blue Jays roster that has four pitchers on the 15-Day Injured List, plus another on the 60-Day IL. Making the roster was one thing; sticking on it will be another one entirely.

As for Watson, he was taken by the Athletics and traded to the Boston Red Sox. The 28-year old has had a long career as he prepares for his Major League debut: he was drafted out of high school in the 39th round in 2016 by the Los Angeles Dodgers, but didn’t sign. He chose instead to play at Auburn, and went undrafted in the pandemic-shortened 2020 draft, but signed with the Baltimore Orioles. They traded him to the Giants for cash considerations in late 2024.

Watson didn’t pitch particularly well for the Red Sox this spring, with a 5.56 ERA, a 4.62 FIP, and just seven strikeouts in 11.1 innings. But he impressed his new coaching staff, and gets the excitement of joining a Major League roster.

Miles and Watson will be worth paying attention to in the coming days, weeks, and months. Should the Blue Jays or Red Sox decide they don’t want to keep them, they’ll be placed on waivers. Any team that claims the relievers will have to abide by the same Rule 5 restrictions. If they clear waivers, they’ll be returned to the Giants for a small fee, and they’ll head back to the Minor Leagues, without taking a spot on the 40-man roster.

The Giants were heavily involved in the Rule 5 draft this year, as Miles, Watson, and Susac represent three of the just 13 players who were taken. As for the other 10 (all pitchers), six made the Opening Day roster for their new teams, while three were returned to their original organization. One, RJ Petit of the Colorado Rockies, will open the year on the Injured List.

The Cubs have secured their second baseman for the long haul.

Nico Hoerner and the Cubs agreed to a six-year extension to keep him in Chicago until his age-35 season, The Post’s Jon Heyman reported on Thursday.

Exact details, including the total salary of the contract, are still unknown.

The deal comes as Hoerner, who turns 29 in May, was previously expected to enter free agency following this season.

Hoerner’s signing also comes just days after the Cubs locked up outfielder Pete Crow-Armstrong with a six-year deal worth $115 million.

A large part of Chicago’s lineup is now locked up long-term, with shortstop Dansby Swanson under contract until 2029, third baseman Alex Bregman not hitting free agency until 2030 and corner infielder Michael Busch under team control through the 2029 season.

“I love our chances right now, I love that we’re in a place where we have a lot of people that are very consistent and a lot of people that have high upside,” Hoerner told reporters before their 10-4 opening-day loss to the Nationals, according to the Chicago Tribune. “When you combine that with experience, it’s a special thing, and I think our group is in a really strong place.”

Hoerner is coming off a career year with the Cubs, posting a slash line of .297/.345/.394 with 29 doubles and a 6.2 WAR, as he earned his second Gold Glove award.

Even with his impressive numbers last season, Cubs skipper Craig Counsell said he believes Horner can do even better.

“Nico can grow, I think Nico can be better, and I really am optimistic he’s going to be better,” Counsell said Thursday. “Nico still has the ability to drive the ball a little more, and that’s in a good place and really ready to show up.

“But I want Nico to be himself, and he’s going to be himself and just go take his at-bat and do good things, in the mold of how he does it.”

The Dodger Stadium gates swung open at 2:30 p.m. and chaos quickly ensued.

Droves of fans clad in blue and white raced in, hitting venue entrances with speed.

But for many who arrived at Chavez Ravine with tickets to Los Angeles’ season-opener against the Diamondbacks on Thursday, the first order of business was not to secure a good spot to see Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman or Mookie Betts.

No, it was to get into team merchandise stores.

Fans are ready to show off their Dodgers pride even if it means waiting in long lines to buy new merch on Opening Day at Dodger Stadium. https://t.co/kAKveBKrYtpic.twitter.com/nTISFMdQLA

— California Post Sports (@capostsports) March 26, 2026

Within an hour of the venerable ballpark’s opening, nearly every shop containing Dodgers gear had a line that was hard to see the end of.

One specific one behind right field appeared endless, although for Dodgers diehard Andrew Martinez, it was a wait that was necessary.

The superfan, decked out in a white and gold Kiké Hernández jersey, told The California Post he simply had to have some of the rare Born x Raised Dodgers gear that was released this offseason.

“I tried to go online,” Martinez said, “but it was all sold within five minutes, two minutes. I was only able to get one shirt out of the about 12 things they dropped. So, that’s why we’re in line.”

Martinez said he was specifically eyeing the Clayton Kershaw tee that the brand put out, even if it meant he and his pal had to stand for around 45 minutes to get their hands on it.

“My buddy’s already getting on me, like, ‘Hey let’s go. Let’s go have some fun. Let’s go talk to people,'” Martinez said. “But I’m like, ‘Look, let’s just do this. All right?’”

Other fans told The Post they were patiently waiting for the opportunity to buy collector pins and Hello Kitty-branded items.

For those lucky enough to move in and out of the stores, getting to seats still didn’t appear to be priority.

Food and drink stands seemed to be the next stop for many, with hundreds antsy to get their hands on some of the new Opening Day offerings — which included bone marrow tacos, watermelon habanero margaritas and the $24.99 “Loco Moco Bowl.”

The game eventually got underway around 5:30 p.m. following fireworks, a flyover and a loud rendition of the national anthem.

Fans in the stands all appeared giddy to see the Dodgers start their quest for a third-straight title — especially those who had full bellies and some new merch at their side.

On their way into the clubhouse Thursday, Dodgers players were greeted by the World Series championship trophies they won in 2024 and 2025. In center field, Dodgers fans were greeted by oversize replicas of those trophies, the better for taking a selfie.

On social media, the Dodgers unveiled their opening day hype video. These were the first words: “What’s wrong with being the bad guy?” At Dodger Stadium, the three-peat hype video was a movie trailer with this tagline: “Great sequels build legendary trilogies.”

To the rest of that country, all that winning and all that spending makes the Dodgers the bad guys. For more than a year, the owners of other major league teams have telegraphed their desire to restrain all that spending, preferably through a salary cap.

How does the owner of the Dodgers feel?

Does baseball truly have a problem?

Sit down, Dodgers fans. You might expect the owner of the Colorado Rockies to say that revenue disparity among teams is so great that competitive balance has been destroyed, and he did.

You might not expect Dodgers owner Mark Walter to say this:

”Here’s what the problem is: Money helps us win. We can’t win all the time. We’ve got to have some parity,” Walter told me.

Read more:Dodgers' opening week will celebrate 2025 World Series, but also set the tone for 2026

“So we’ve got to come up with something that will give us some parity.”

Don’t take this the wrong way: Walter will always want to win. But the owners, Walter included, are increasingly united in the belief that revenue disparity is the primary explanation why a small-market team has not won the World Series in 11 years.

The Dodgers are making more money from Uniqlo in naming rights this season than some teams are making from local television rights and the Dodgers also are making 10 times as much on their SportsNet LA deal.

The Dodgers generated an estimated $850 million in revenue last season, according to Forbes. Their opening day opponent, the Arizona Diamondbacks, generated an estimated $324 million.

If Walter were to support the pursuit of a salary cap, the owners could be unanimously in favor. For now, negotiations with the players’ union have not started, and owners have not considered the language of whatever bargaining proposal they might make, so there is nothing for Walter to approve or reject.

“We’ll have to see what it is,” Walter said.

The players’ union does not dispute the revenue disparity. The union believes the owners should solve that issue among themselves, by sharing more revenue and adding incentives for lower-revenue teams that win. The union also believes “competitive balance” is a fig leaf for “cost control that increases owner profits.”

In the NFL, which has a salary cap, either the Kansas City Chiefs or the New England Patriots has played in the AFC championship in each of the last 15 years.

Read more:Shaikin: The signs say Uniqlo Field. You will continue to say Dodger Stadium

And, even if the Dodgers are the bad guys, they are not bad for business. The Dodgers hold five of the top 12 spots on baseball’s list of best-selling jerseys: Shohei Ohtani at No. 1, Yoshinobu Yamamoto at No. 2, Mookie Betts at No. 5, Freddie Freeman at No. 7 and Kiké Hernandez at No. 12.

The last two World Series, in which the Dodgers beat the New York Yankees and Toronto Blue Jays, juiced television ratings across the country and around the world. The World Baseball Classic dominated headlines and social media content at what is usually a sleepy time for baseball.

All of that momentum would be at risk if owners shut down the sport in “salary cap or bust” collective bargaining, crossing their fingers that players would surrender as soon as they started missing paychecks next spring.

It is against that backdrop that Dodgers manager Dave Roberts encouraged fans to appreciate this season opener. With potential armageddon looming in negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement, who knows when the next season might actually open?

“I understand that,” Roberts said Thursday, “in the sense of, this is where the CBA is at, as far as the expiration. And I do agree: Enjoy it, because nothing is guaranteed. It’s going to be a great year and I hope everyone pours their spirits and their joy into this season, because it’s going to be a great one. We’ll just figure out where it goes after that.”

And, if it goes haywire after that, the Dodgers inevitably will be blamed.

“That,” Roberts said with a laugh, “seems like it’s always been the case recently.”

What would Walter tell Dodgers fans concerned that what might be in the best interest of baseball might not be in the best interest of the Dodgers?

“I don’t want to hurt us,” Walter said. “We’ll be fine.”

With whatever happens?

“Yeah,” he said. “We’ll be good.”

Sign up for more Dodgers news with Dodgers Dugout. Delivered at the start of each series.

This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.

Mets Opening Day included a fitting baseball circle-of-life moment.

Rookie outfielder Carson Benge, making his Mets regular season debut, brought Citi Field to its feet when he blasted a solo home run in the sixth inning, the first of his major league career, as the Amazin’s rolled to an 11-7 win over the Pirates in a Thursday matinee.

On the call for Audacy Mets Radio was none other than Howie Rose, who is calling his final Opening Day after he announced just days before the season that it would be his last in the broadcasting booth.

Benge, facing Pirates reliever Justin Lawrence, clobbered a first-pitch sweeper, sending it over the right-center field wall on a 105.3 mph line drive.

Rose was on the play-by-play duties in the bottom of the frame and had the call. He didn’t miss a beat.

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“First pitch, Benge hits it in the air to right field, fairly deep, [Ryan] O’Hearn back, at the wall and it’s gone!” Rose said. “He hit it off the canopy in the right field bullpen. Carson Benge makes his first major league hit a home run. Congratulations to Carson Benge as he gets an enthusiastic pat on the back from third base coach Tim Leiper, an aggressive fist bump from Francisco Alvarez and they’re waiting to congratulate the kid in the dugout.

“Carson Benge, his first major league knock and homer, and the Mets take a 10-5 lead.”

Benge, the top Mets position player prospect, finished the day by reaching base three times — drawing two walks — and scoring two runs. He also stole his first big league base in the eighth inning.

Rose, who said last week that he “did not arrive at this decision to retire easily,” got to use his signature “Put it in the books!” call in the top of the ninth when reliever Luis Garcia fanned Oneil Cruz for the game’s final out.

Dodgers players were treated to plenty of surprises as they walked into the clubhouse for Opening Day on Thursday.

The World Series trophies from their 2024 and 2025 championships were on display outside the locker room doors. Gold-accented jerseys and caps were sitting in their stalls for their season opener against the Diamondbacks.

And, in a more unexpected twist, luxury Seiko watches were waiting for each of them, as well.

According to Miguel Rojas, the watches were a teamwide gift from superstar Shohei Ohtani to all of his 2026 Dodgers teammates. 

Each of them came with a message, too: “Let’s three-peat.”

“That talks a lot about what kind of human he is, not just on the field but off the field,” Rojas said of Ohtani. “I know that watch, we’re going to keep it forever, and we’re always going to remember the best player in the world gave us a watch for Opening Day in 2026.”

The watches, of course, are only the first piece of jewelry the Dodgers are hoping to receive this year. Friday night, they will get their 2025 World Series rings. By season’s end, they’ll hope to earn another, as well, trying to become only the third three-peat champion in MLB’s expansion era.

That’s why Rojas appreciated Ohtani’s message as much –– or, almost, at least –– as the watches themselves.

“I think that’s the mentality of everybody in this clubhouse,” he said. “We need to keep finding new [motivation] every single day, because it’s not going to be an easy road. We all know that we’re going to compete against the best in the world. They all want to come for what we have. And we are really responsible and accountable for what we’re going to be embracing this year.”

Now, they’ll have a flashy new timepiece to help them remember that, as well.

Carlos Mendoza called Luis Robert Jr.’s 10-pitch walk the biggest at-bat in what turned out to be the Mets’ rather stunning first-inning takedown of Paul Skenes, the best and most imposing pitcher in the National League.

And afterward, the manager was practically giggling as he tried to explain it.

“I mean, historically he’s been chaser, right?” Mendoza said. “We know he’s going to chase. But then you watch that at-bat. For him to lay off that 3-2 breaking ball…for me, that whole inning was about that Luis Robert at-bat.”

As it turned out, Robert Jr.’s unexpected plate discipline loaded the bases and set the table for the Brett Baty triple - albeit, thanks to a misplay by Oneil Cruz - that led to Skenes’ first-inning knockout and eventually a feel-good 11-7 Opening Day win over the Pittsburgh Pirates at Citi Field.

It was a win that featured the Mets’ new-look offense that prioritizes making contact, the deliberate result of David Stearns desire to, as he said during spring training, “have more competitive at-bats 1-through-9” in the lineup.

The first-day results say the plan could work wonders for an offense that has been too feast-or-famine in recent years, and way too inconsistent with runners in scoring position.

Yet not even the Stearns would have dreamed of his team giving Skenes the earliest knockout of his career. And though the NL Cy Young winner’s defense was partly to blame, tough at-bats by the Mets’ hitters led to long counts that pushed his pitch count to 37, at which point Pirates’ manager Don Kelly decided not to push his young superstar too far on Opening Day.

“He was missing arm side and he was trying to make us chase,” said Mendoza. “We controlled the strike zone. We executed the game plan. We were going to make him come to us - and be aggressive if we get pitches to hit.”

From the offseason blueprint to the ballfield. At least on Day One.

Yet the weird part is Robert Jr. wasn’t really part of that blueprint. The Mets gambled on him in a trade with the Chicago White Sox, willing to take on his $20 million salary this season, because of his elite athleticism, both as a center fielder and a hitter, and the hope that he could stay healthy and deliver on the hit tool that still makes scouts drool.

But suffice it to say, nobody ever accused Robert Jr. of being a grinder at the plate.

Indeed, as Mendoza referenced, Robert Jr. has been the definition of a chaser throughout his career. Even during his All-Star season in 2023, when he hit .264 with 38 home runs, he had a whopping 172 strikeouts and ranked in the bottom third percentile among all hitters in chasing pitches out of the strike zone, according to MLB Statcast.

One year earlier, in 2022, he ranked in the bottom one percent. The very bottom. By 2025, he’d improved a bit but still ranked in the bottom 20th percentile, which means that, at least statistically, Robert should have had little to no chance of winning an at-bat like the one against Skenes on Thursday, from falling behind 1-2 in the count to working out such a consequential walk.

Or as a scout I reached out to after the Mets’ win said:

“At 1-2, I thought there was a 90 percent chance Skenes would strike him out. Then, honestly, as he was fouling off tough pitches and taking sliders off the plate, I almost couldn’t believe it was the same guy I watched in Chicago.”

So then logic would tell you the 10-pitch walk was just some sort of happy accident for the Mets.

To that point, according to Sports Info Solutions, the 10-pitch walk was tied for Robert’s longest at-bat in his last three seasons, along with one in 2025 against Taijuan Walker, who, no offense, is hardly Paul Skenes.

Ok, but what if this is some new-and-improved version of Robert Jr.? He did go 2-for-4 in addition to the walk on Thursday, even if one of his two singles was a slow roller in the infield.

More significantly, Robert Jr. is still only 28, after all, and theoretically younger than that, baseball-wise, considering all the time he’s missed due to injuries during his career, only once playing more than 110 games in a season.

In addition, there has been much speculation from people around baseball, even going back to last season when the Mets were interested in him at the trade deadline, that he’d been worn down by years of losing with the White Sox and even somewhat undeveloped in an organization considered lacking in modern analytics/technology.

Stearns himself said after trading for him, “We’ve all seen it before. Sometimes guys just need a change of scenery to bring out the best him.” Here’s how the scout translated that quote when I read it to him Thursday:

“That’s a nice way of saying he thinks the White Sox weren’t equipped to get the most out of Robert’s talent,” he said. “And he might be right about that. We’re talking mostly about one at-bat against a great pitcher but it’s something that you wouldn’t think was possible unless the guy has taken to whatever the Mets may have been working with him on this spring.”

Mendoza, for one, wants to believe that such work in spring training is already beginning to pay dividends.

“I give credit to him and the coaches,” said the manager. “Behind the scenes, they were working with him on laying off tough pitches and doing damage with the pitches he can handle. I think you saw some of that in that walk.”

It opened some eyes among his teammates as well.

“That was super impressive,” Bo Bichette said. “To get to 1-2 against a guy like that, and then work the count to 3-2, that’s not easy to do. Then to lay off a slider on 3-2…you’ve got 100 (mph) in the back of your mind, and you also want to drive in a run there…to wind up taking the walk is so impressive.”

So if it’s more than a happy accident, well, Robert could be an X-factor that gives the Mets a significant power dimension in the No. 5 spot, in addition to the contact, plate discipline, and consistency in RBI spots they want to be their identity.

“We know how talented he is,” was the way Mendoza put it. “We know what that could mean for us.”

To which the scout added: “Keeping him off the injured list is a big part of it, but if the Mets get a better version of Robert, especially with his approach and discipline, that could be a deep and dangerous lineup.”

At least for one day, a first-inning TKO of the best pitcher in the National League was proof of that.

Busch Stadium was an exciting place to be today as the St. Louis Cardinals opened up the 2026 season against the Tampa Bay Rays. The parade of St. Louis Cardinals Hall of Famers, the proud Budweiser Clydesdales and a stadium packed with plenty of fans wearing red. The game had plenty of highlights and it was a close game until the sixth inning when the Rays jumped out to a big lead, but the Cardinals put together a furious comeback to beat Tampa Bay.

The St. Louis Cardinals struck first when JJ Wetherholt came up for his second at-bat and hammered a 2-strike pitch into Freese’s Landing in center. JJ’s homer traveled 425 feet with an exit velocity of 101.7 mph.

Nathan Church made an incredible catch in the fifth inning bringing a potential home run back from over the left field wall.

It was the sixth inning when both teams would go wild. Matt Svanson relieved Matthew Liberatore who gave up 3 singles before being removed by Manager Oli Marmol who brought in Justin Bruihl. Chandler Simpson pinch-hit for the Rays singled past Masyn Winn to knock in a run. Aranda followed that with a sacrifice fly to center to give Tampa Bay a 3-1 lead. Bruihl was taken out of the game and replaced by Chris Roycroft who gives up 2 dribble singles. By the time the Tampa Bay sixth inning was done, the Rays lead was 7-1.

The Cardinals answered with one of the most exciting innings the team has had in recent years. Masyn Winn doubled followed by a RBI single by Nolan Gorman. Jordan Walker slammed a ground rule double over the center field wall with Gorman stopping at third base. Nathan Church then singled in both Gorman and Walker making it 7-5. Tampa Bay responded by bringing in Cleavinger in relief who immediately surrendered a single to Pedro Pages. Victor Scott II laid down the perfect bunt to load the bases. JJ Wetherholt flied out to deep right field bringing in Nathan Church to reduce the Rays lead to 7-6. Victor Scott II then stole 2nd base. Great situational hitting continued as Ivan Herrera’s sacrifice fly tied the game. It was Alec Burleson who brought Busch Stadium to its collective feet when he destroyed a ball into the right field stands as it traveled 432 feet.

One additional sixth inning note: The Rays catcher Fortes took a ball to the worst possible place, but miraculously managed to stay in the game. Chuck Norris would have been so proud of such courage. Seriously.

The St. Louis Cardinals shined on defense in the 8th inning when JJ Wetherholt made a fine play on a backhanded grab and Alec Burleson robbed the Rays on a line drive he grabbed that was screaming down the first base line. In the bottom of the 8th, Victor Scott II reached base on a broken bat single to center then was granted 2nd base when he drew three throws over to first base, but it was all for naught when Masyn Winn lined out to left field to end the inning.

The Cardinals brought in Ryan Stanek in the 9th inning to shut down the Rays, but he allowed unneeded drama allowing the Rays to load the bases, but St. Louis held on for a thrilling 9-7 victory after former Cardinal Palacios made the final out.

The energy in Busch Stadium today was amazing. Even when the Cardinals fell behind 7-1, the team did not lose its intensity. This was the first time the Cardinals have overcome a 6-run deficit since 2019 when they did it against the Cincinnati Reds. Matthew Liberatore threw a solid, if not spectacular 5 innings giving up 7 hits.

A mere 145 days after their last game, the Dodgers are back in a game that counts. The same pitcher who ended that triumph in Toronto is again on the mound to start 2026 in Los Angeles.

Opening day game info

• Teams: Dodgers vs. Diamondbacks
• Ballpark: Dodger Stadium
• Time: 5:30 p.m.
• TV: NBC (Jason Benetti, Orel Hershiser, Luis González)
• Streaming: Peacock
• Radio: AM 570 (English), KTNQ 1020 AM (Spanish)

If Opening Day were a prophecy, instead of merely a beginning, the Mets should start planning for a late October destiny.

If they can replicate for a whole season what they did Thursday afternoon -- when they were a patient, pitch-eating juggernaut that pushed reigning Cy Young winner Paul Skenes from the game before he could record a third out -- they can rewrite history. Suddenly, that 2025 debacle could look more like a painful-but-necessary learning experience, one that nudged David Stearns to remake his lineup into the relentless, dynamic force last year’s team never found a way to be.

Because for one sunny afternoon in Flushing, everything went perfectly for a new-look Mets lineup that included five players who did not appear for them in 2025. By taking close pitches and fouling off uncomfortable strikes, they picked apart one of the best pitchers of this generation so completely that he left the game before finishing one inning, by far the worst start of his career.

“Look, that first inning was pretty impressive,” Mets manager Carlos Mendoza said. “Not gonna lie.”

That first inning was a masterclass in all the things the Mets could not do last year – creating sparks, then igniting them into a full-fledged flame.

Francisco Lindor worked a walk. Juan Soto blooped a hit into short center, at which point Lindor hustled to third base, challenging Oneil Cruz’s cannon in center to take an extra base.

That brought up Bo Bichette, the former American League batting champion, heralded as a runners-in-scoring-position savant the Mets sorely needed. He fell into a two-strike count. He fouled off a pitch up and in. Then he muscled a fly ball just deep enough to right field to score a run, giving the Mets a walk, a bloop, a sprint, and a chip shot. Something out of nothing.

Jorge Polanco, another new addition, singled. Then, Luis Robert Jr. – known as an avid chaser of strikes and balls, alike – worked a walk in just the second 10-pitch plate appearance he has had in the last three years. A batter later, Brett Baty delivered a go-ahead triple. He said seeing so many Skenes offerings to Robert helped.

“That’s what we harp on. We’re a complete lineup,” Baty said. “And if you wear the pitcher down, somebody is going to get a mistake and do some damage with it.”

Now, of course, any team can have a good inning on any given day. And many teams can even have that good inning against Skenes, though it must be said the Mets were helped by two misreads by Cruz that turned Baty’s ball from a sacrifice fly to a triple and Marcus Semien’s bloop into a double a batter later.

But what was encouraging for Mendoza, he said later, was that the Mets put together a similar inning in the fifth inning. Carson Benge reached base for the first time in his career with a walk. Francisco Alvarez singled. Lindor walked for the third time in five innings to load the bases. At that point, Soto poked a ten-hopper through the left side, the kind of hit that can materialize when hitters put the ball in play with runners in scoring position instead of prioritizing big swings and damage.

A batter later, Bichette worked a 13-pitch at-bat that ended in a strikeout.

“I wrote that down,” Mendoza said later. “Even though he struck out, then we see a four-pitch walk right away, right behind him. He’s going to make him work. We’ve got a lot of guys who are going to grind at-bats. Even if we didn’t get the exact result we wanted in that particular situation, the other guy benefitted from it.”

Ironically, Bichette was the only player in the lineup who did not reach base Thursday. But that 13-pitch at-bat preceded a walk and another single that helped the Mets add on after the Pirates started climbing back.

“I know he might have had a couple strikeouts today or something, but he was grinding,” Baty said. “The strikeouts I had too, I was trying to grind, get the pitch count up. All through the lineup, I think we were super scrappy today.”

Unfortunately for the Mets, the keyword in that sentence is “today.” Whether Thursday was a harbinger or aberration will be clearer in time. Small sample sizes cannot be trusted – though they do not always lie.

“It’s 162,” Mendoza said. “There’s gonna be times where it’s gonna be hard. That’s the nature of the business. But just to see it out of the gate against one of the best pitchers in the league, it goes to show you that we’ve got some dangerous guys.”

And indeed, Thursday did demonstrate that when this remodeled lineup is at its most focused (and, perhaps, gifted a few lucky breaks), it is capable of being one of the game’s more productive groups.

Perhaps Benge will look more like the rookie who struck out in his first two at-bats Thursday more often than he looks like the guy who homered in his fourth. But the fact that he could follow two tough at-bats in his first big league game with two solid ones suggests he will not disappear when at-bats go badly.