NEW YORK — As Paul Skenes walked off the mound with one out remaining in the bottom of the first inning, a majority of the 41,449 fans in attendance at Citi Field rose to their feet in celebration. Some waved goodbye to the Pirates ace, while others gazed in disbelief.

For just one of a handful of times since he was truly introduced to the baseball world a few years back, Skenes looked human. It happened on opening day, on national television and ultimately led to an 11-7 loss Thursday afternoon to the Mets.

Many rushed to wrap their minds around what had just happened. NBC announcer Matt Vasgersian suggested Skenes’ lack of control could be connected to his participation in this year’s World Baseball Classic. He even gave the Post-Gazette a shoutout in the process, which was certainly nice to hear.

But as far as this writer is concerned, no preseason tournament is to blame for what happened in Skenes’ latest outing. He was bad, the worst he’s ever been. And when that happens, there’s no going back. Not for this team, at least.

Despite some nice offseason additions, Skenes still doesn’t have the luxury of being anything other than brilliant. Unlike his teammates, when he struggles, there is no answer.

“Flush it,” the 2025 National League Cy Young award winner said following his season opening loss. “You gotta look at it for what it is. There wasn’t a ton of hard contact. Leadoff walk is not great. But some balls landed … the Polanco ground ball, stuff like that. The batting average on balls in play thing was super high today. That’ll go down as the season goes down.”

“Flushing it” would indeed be the right course of action.

There’s no denying that Skenes’ statline was ugly. He allowed five runs, all earned, on four hits, two walks and a hit batter over just ⅔ of an inning.

From the very beginning, something seemed a bit off. His fastball command wasn’t there, resulting in a slew of missed locations and a notable lack of swing-and-miss. The Mets’ stacked lineup also had a scrappy collective approach, with three of their first five hitters of the game logging a five-plus-pitch at-bat, which resulted in a pair of walks and weak-hit singles.

Normally, Skenes tight ropes his way out of danger. But this time, his teammates — well, mainly one of them — cut the wire before his balancing act could conclude. On back-to-back plays, a pair of defensive miscues from Oneil Cruz ultimately flipped the game on its head.

The first came on a line drive with the bases loaded. Cruz, who entered Thursday with 142 career major league starts in center field, decided to take his first step forward — a fundamental error any replacement level little league outfielder would’ve recognized the moment it took place. The ball flew straight over Cruz’s head, allowing three runs to score and Mets designated hitter Brett Baty to advance to third base.

The next at-bat wasn’t as costly, but was equally embarrassing. Mets second baseman Marcus Semien smacked a high pop-up to shallow center field. Cruz, the only Pirates outfielder not wearing sun glasses, lost the ball in, you guessed it, the sun. It fell to the ground, another run scored, and just a few batters later Skenes’ day, along with the Pirates’ chances of winning on opening day had come to a shocking end.

“Not really the first one,” Cruz said, with coach Stephen Morales translating, when asked if the sun played a factor on both plays. "The second one, yes, for sure. The first one was one of those low line drives that it takes a little bit more time for me to read it, and they're really tough balls to read, because you don't know if you're going to have to come in or go back. It got in the sun a little bit at the end, but those are the ones that I definitely have to get better at. I'll get better at it, for sure.

"Yeah, we need to make sure that we're prepared right there," Pirates manager Don Kelly added.

Such mistakes are nothing new for Cruz. He’s made 38 errors during his past 282 games, good for a .950 fielding percentage between both shortstop and center field. He was worth minus-14 defensive runs saved last season, the second worst showing by any outfielder in that metric (Jung Hoo Lee of the San Francisco Giants, minus-18, was the worst).

When Cruz’s mistakes take place, you’ll often see teammates and coaches immediately rushing to his aid. Their goal is to keep his spirits up, to keep him engaged in the game or perhaps even hold him accountable. But rest assured, this will continue. You just know it will. It’s a shame the shoe will never be on the other foot.

As stated above, Skenes, along with the rest of the pitching staff, aren’t extended the same privileges of their teammate in center field. There is no room for error on the mound. Last year it was due to a lack of run support. This year, it will be due to a lack of defense behind him.

On this Pirates’ team, if you make mistakes on the mound, such as issuing nine walks plus a hit batter, those runners are likely going to come around and score. Even if there’s weak contact. Heck, even if a ball is hit directly toward a defender, it could still go wrong. That’s the harsh reality of this team. For as much as the offense might have improved, the defense has regressed even more.

All this said, it’s just one game. The Pirates have a day to shake things off, and then will seek revenge Saturday afternoon against the same opponent in the same venue. Skenes, meanwhile, will be fine. He was chill as could be following the loss, likely saving his pent up frustration for his next outing, against the Cincinnati Reds.

When that time comes, Skenes will almost certainly return to his regular form, because that’s what he does. He doesn’t have many bad days, because he doesn’t allow it, because he can’t. Skenes needs to be at his best nearly every time he pitches. And if he’s not, well, we might see more games like Thursday’s, a harsh reality that’s difficult to refute, and one that’s all-too-familiar for Pirates fans and players alike.

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