Paul Skenes Has Clear Mindset Heading Into Pirates Opener
In this story:
PITTSBURGH — Paul Skenes heads into the 2026 season not just as one of the best pitchers in baseball, but with confidence in the Pittsburgh Pirates.
Skenes takes the mound for the Pirates on Opening Day, as they face the New York Mets at Citi Field on March 26, with a national television broadcast on NBC, with aims of getting off to a good beginning of the season.
He made his first Opening Day start in 2025 against the Miami Marlins at loanDepot Park, where he threw 5.1 innings, posting seven strikeouts and giving up two earned runs after departing early in the sixth inning in a no-decision.
Skenes wants to come out victorious, of course, but also get a bit of revenge for not doing so last season.
“Hopefully winning this one," Skenes said. "Didn’t win last year. Yeah it’s a good opportunity. We got 162 ahead of us and hopefully some games after that and it’s nice to finally start it.”
What Skenes Notices About 2026 Pirates Team
Skenes was excellent in 2025, winning the National League Cy Young Award, but the Pirates struggled throughout and finished 71-91 overall, last in the NL Central Division.
The Pirates made ambitious decisions this offseason, adding through trade and free agency, particularly to their lineup, which ranked amongst the worst in many hitting categories.
Some of these include free agent sluggers in Ryan O'Hearn and Marcell Ozuna and second baseman Brandon Lowe in a trade with the Tampa Bay Rays, who will all provide power and veteran leadership in 2026.
These moves, coupled with returning players like Oneil Cruz and Bryan Reynolds trying to bounce back, have made the Pirates a team with a renewed sense of excitement and hope for 2026.
Skenes has noticed this, but also doesn't see this being temporary, as he has confidence in the player on the Pirates to work through tough times and get back to what their main focus is: winning.
“It’s certainly different," Skenes said. "It’s kind of tough to put into words. The vibe and identity is something that happens over the course of spring, but over the course of a season too. You go through stuff, March, April, May, June that can bring guys together, it can pull guys apart.
“We have the character, the type of people on this team that whatever happens these next few months, it’s going to bring us together and we have a lot of people that are going to answer challenges."
Skenes Has One Major Goal in 2026
While Skenes will be up for awards and other accolades again this season, his ultimate desire is to play meaningful baseball as late into the season as he can.
The Pirates haven't made the postseason since 2015 and haven't had a winning season since 2018, both marking the second-longest streaks for any team in baseball.
Skenes even finished with a 10-10 record in 2025, despite posting an historic 1.97 ERA, due to the Pirates struggles from the plate.
Those additions should make the Pirates a better offensive team and couple that with a great pitching staff, that led MLB with 19 shutouts and ranked seventh with a 3.76 ERA in 2025, and there's reason he and his teammates have high expectations in 2026.
“We want to win the division," Skenes said. "We want to make the playoffs. That’s it. How we do that, who knows. I don’t want to put a number of games out there because that’s just putting a ceiling on us. We have to go out there and play well every day.”
Dominic writes for Pittsburgh Pirates On SI, Pittsburgh Panthers Pn SI and also, Pittsburgh Steelers On SI. A Pittsburgh native, Dominic grew up watching Pittsburgh Sports and wrote for The Pitt News as an undergraduate at the University of Pittsburgh, covering Pitt Athletics. He would write for Pittsburgh Sports Now after college and has years of experience covering sports across Pittsburgh.