While the New York Mets thrilled the home crowd with an opening day victory over the Pittsburgh Pirates, one aspect went underdiscussed. New York Daily News reporter Abbey Mastracco mentioned how the pitching took second billing.
“Citi Field doesn’t typically lend itself to offensive production early in the year, and with 161 games left to play, the Mets know there will be tough days and cold spells at the plate. It wasn’t how they drew it up, but what they did on Opening Day was show a sellout crowd the brand of baseball they intend to play this season.”
Granted, crowds do love offense. It moves needles and increases ratings. However, the Mets still need to generate outs from their staff.
Two homers on Opening Day for Brandon Lowe in his Pirates debut! pic.twitter.com/PSH7mkFpNg
— Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) March 26, 2026
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Offensive Outburst Conceals Early Issue
After a walk, starter Freddy Peralta served up a slider that Brandon Lowe parked over the right field fence. While Peralta did strike out seven over five innings, his pitches occasionally flattened out, allowing for hard hits. As the ace of the staff, needing 11 runs to win each game makes it a losing proposition eventually. According to Baseball Savant, Peralta’s pitch breakdown tells a slightly different story.
For example, his 80 pitches basically became two pitches: the four-seam and the slider. Despite the ability to throw the curveball and changeup, Peralta became too dependent on his top two pitches. When the Mets started to pull away, thanks to their hitting and the Pirates’ defensive mistakes, he could have relied on more off-speed offerings to keep batters guessing.
GettyPittsburgh Pirates’ Brandon Lowe celebrates after hitting a home run against the Mets.
Finding Myers’ True Role
When the organization traded for Peralta, it also landed pitcher Tobia Myeres. As a long reliever, he would bring the ability to soak up innings and get outs. However, with the ability to throw five pitches for strikes, using him in a specialist role would make more sense. Myers didn’t throw excessively hard yesterday; he averaged 91.9 miles per houor. Similarly, two of his pitches (splitter and curveball) never touched 80 mph.
Garcia Taps In, Gets Touched Up
Veteran Luis Garcia entered the game to basically mop up. Yet, the Pirates scored two runs in an inning. Where Garcia apparently went wrong was overusing his sinker. His sinker failed to drop. Instead, the pitch flattened out, and Pittsburgh made him pay. Garcia’s splitter worked well, leading to two strikeouts.
RYAN O’HEARN GOES YARD
THE NEW GUYS HAVE SOME POP 💥pic.twitter.com/PcIYgQl000
— SleeperPirates (@SleeperPirates) March 26, 2026
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Long-Term Issue or Opening Hiccup?
Overall, the Mets won. They scored 11 runs and chased Paul Skenes after less than one inning. Still, the concern about Peralta remains rather high. As the team conducts contract extension talks with him, each game becomes a plot point on his resume. Working in his favor is the existing relationship with general manager David Stearns. However, with a much larger budget than he had in Milwaukee, Peralta will court the Mets as much as they will pursue him.
The Mets still play the Pirates twice this weekend. Under those circumstances, the other pitchers will get their chance to throw. Can the Mets’ pitching match the opening day hitting onslaught?
Mets Offensive Outburst Masks Area of Concern