Mets-Pirates Opening Day Matchup Features Two NL Cy Young Award Favorites

Baseball fans, one of the best days of the year is finally upon us: Major League Baseball Opening Day.

There are a lot of good matchups for today’s slate of games, but there may be none better than the one taking place in Queens. The New York Mets are hosting the Pittsburgh Pirates in the first of a three-game set, with newly acquired ace right-hander Freddy Peralta taking the bump and facing reigning National League Cy Young winner and early 2026 favorite Paul Skenes.

This should be a fun one to watch with a lot of whiffs and strikeouts as two Cy Young candidates square off in what will likely be an intense, low-scoring affair.

“In the best pitching matchup of the day, we have last year's NL Cy Young winner facing Peralta, who finished fifth in the voting,” ESPN staff wrote Thursday. “Peralta was traded from the [Milwaukee] Brewers to the Mets, so he'll face the dual pressures of serving as the expected ace of the Mets and pitching for a big contract as he heads to free agency.”

Peralta joins a New York starting rotation that is looking for stability after the unit collapsed during the second half of the 2025 campaign and he’s the right man for the job. The two-time All-Star led the National League in wins (17) and posted a 2.70 ERA with 204 strikeouts last season.

Peralta has consistently had an ERA in the mid-3.00s with three consecutive 200-strikeout seasons and helped guide Milwaukee to four NL Central division titles in the past five years. The Big Apple has a big star taking the ball every fifth day and he will be tasked with shutting down the new and improved Pirates lineup:

1. Oneil Cruz (CF)

2. Brandon Lowe (2B)

3. Bryan Reynolds (LF)

4. Marcell Ozuna (DH)

5. Ryan O’Hearn (RF)

6. Jared Triolo (SS)

7. Spencer Horwitz (1B)

8. Nick Gonzales (3B)

9. Henry Davis (C)

Skenes has arguably been the best pitcher in MLB since debuting in 2024. He won the NL Rookie of the Year that season after going 11-3 with a 1.96 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and 170 strikeouts in 133 innings (23 starts). The right-hander followed that up by going 10-10 (little run support) with a 1.97 ERA, 0.95 WHIP and 216 strikeouts in 187.2 innings (32 starts).

His ERA, ERA+ (217), FIP (2.36) and home runs per nine innings (0.5) led MLB, so it should be no surprise that he won the Cy Young unanimously. Skenes is also tasked with facing a new-look lineup, as the Mets made a lot of changes after a disappointing end to 2025.

1. Francisco Lindor (SS)

2. Juan Soto (LF)

3. Bo Bichette (3B)

4. Jorge Polanco (1B)

5. Luis Robert Jr. (CF)

6. Brett Baty (DH)

7. Marcus Semien (2B)

8. Carson Benge (RF)

9. Francisco Alvarez (C)

First pitch is at 1:15 p.m. ET on NBC and Peacock.