In what should be one of the most electric Opening Day pitching matchups around the league, reigning National League Cy Young Award winner Paul Skenes of the Pirates will oppose another Top 5 finisher in Freddy Peralta of the Mets on March 26 at Citi Field.
“He’s the man,” Peralta said of Skenes. “I think that he’s an amazing pitcher, great pitcher. And I know for sure that we’re going to compete.”
This will be the third meeting between Peralta and Skenes, following a pair of regular-season matchups last year. In the first of them last May, Skenes outpitched Peralta but took a no-decision in a game the Pirates won over the Brewers in extra innings. In a rematch three months later, Peralta took control with six shutout innings to beat Skenes.
Since then, of course, circumstances have changed. Over the winter, the Mets acquired Peralta from the Brewers for a pair of prospects, putting him on an Opening Day collision course with Skenes.
Pirates: RHP Paul Skenes
Previous Opening Days starts: 2025
2025 season: 10-10, 1.97 ERA in 32 starts
Announcing Skenes would again take the ball to start the Bucs’ season was more formality than anything, after Pittsburgh’s ace earned his second All-Star bid last season and wrapped the year as the unanimous winner of the National League Cy Young Award. There wasn’t a lot Skenes didn’t do last season, throwing 187 2/3 innings and setting the single-season franchise record for strikeouts by a righty (216).
With a 1.97 ERA that marked the lowest of any Pirates starter in the Live Ball Era, Skenes deserved a better record than what he wound up with, and the Bucs spent their offseason adding to their bats to give their star the offensive support he deserves in ’26.
“There’s no doubt: he helps everybody get better,” manager Don Kelly said. “It’s just the way he goes about it every single day, the way he approaches not just each time he touches the mound but each time he throws, he’s like that. And the detail with how he goes about it.
“He challenges everybody to be better, me included.”
Mets: RHP Freddy Peralta
Previous Opening Day starts: 2024, 2025
2025 season: 17-6, 2.70 ERA in 33 starts
Lacking an experienced ace to top their rotation, the Mets acquired one in January in the form of Peralta, a two-time All-Star coming off the best season of his career. Given Peralta’s resume, the Mets naturally wasted little time in naming him their Opening Day starter.
“As soon as we acquired him, it was pretty clear that he was going to be pitching at the front of our rotation,” manager Carlos Mendoza said. “He earned it. He’s done it. I’m excited, and we are all excited.”
Peralta will be making his third consecutive Opening Day start. He’s 1-1 in his previous two efforts with the Brewers.