Oneil Cruz could blame his Opening Day misplays in center field on the sun — and he did, to some degree — but that only accounts for one of his two first-inning gaffes in the 11-7 loss to the New York Mets.

If only it were a matter of why an outfielder wasn’t wearing sunglasses during a day game. If only it were about losing a fly ball in the sun and allowing it to drop for an RBI double.

More concerning is that Cruz showed no instincts on Brett Baty’s line drive to center for a three-run triple in the previous at-bat. Cruz took a step in, then realized the ball was going over his head.

“The first one was one of those, a low line drive that takes a little bit more time for me to read it,” Cruz said with coach Stephen Morales translating. “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. That’s one I have to get better at, and I’ll get better, for sure.”

On the SportsNet Pittsburgh postgame show, Steven Brault asked Michael McKenry what to do in such a situation. McKenry answered without hesitation: Freeze and step back.

Cruz’s mistakes won’t count as errors but were nonetheless costly, shortening Paul Skenes’ start to two-thirds of an inning because of a high pitch count. Skenes only has himself to blame for walking two of the first five batters he faced and allowing two hits.

But Baty’s liner to center should have been a sacrifice fly for the second out, and Semien’s fly ball that Cruz lost in the sun would have ended the inning with the game likely tied and Skenes at 32 pitches.

“You learn a lot,” Cruz said. “There’s good days and bad days, for sure. Nobody wants to make mistakes. I’ve just got to continue to work hard.”

1. Bad beginnings: These mistakes were understandable in the season opener at Miami last year, when Cruz was still a novice in center field after converting from shortstop in late August 2024.

With a 4-2 lead in the eighth inning, Cruz made a mental mishap on Otto Lopez’s two-out single to center by trying to throw out Kyle Stowers at home plate instead of preventing Lopez from advancing to second base. Dane Myers singled to center to drive in Lopez for the tying run. Then, in the ninth inning, Cruz couldn’t track or chase down a Nick Fortes fly ball to deep right-center, and the ball bounced off the base of the wall for a triple. Stowers hit a walk-off single to right to score pinch runner Javier Sanoja and give the Marlins a 5-4 victory.

For someone who spent time working with four-time Gold Glove winner Kevin Kiermaier, Cruz looked as lost as ever. That’s unacceptable after 150 games in center, even if Cruz had minus-14 defensive runs saved.

“Last year has nothing to do with this year,” Cruz said. “For sure I don’t want to start the season like I did. I’m just going to continue to work.”

2. Skenes struggles: That’s not to blame Cruz for the loss.

Skenes deserves his share after the Mets worked deep counts, with Francisco Lindor drawing a seven-pitch leadoff walk and Luis Robert Jr. a 10-pitch walk to load the bases. The Mets made Skenes throw strikes on 26 of his 37 pitches, and he surrendered four hits, had more walks (two) than strikeouts and hit Francisco Alvarez with a pitch.

“They did a really good job,” Skenes said. “In the moment, maybe a little frustrating. I’ve just got to execute earlier.”

Skenes also had some bad luck aside from Cruz’s misplays. Jorge Polanco reached on a dribbler toward third that Skenes fielded but couldn’t make a play on. Skenes blamed himself for not executing a two-strike pitch to Robert when the Pirates needed a double play.

It was a stinker of a start for Skenes, who showed some leadership by remaining in the dugout to support his teammates. If there was a positive, it was that the Mets didn’t make much hard contact. And that Skenes maintained his belief that he could’ve gotten out of the inning, if not for the high pitch count in a late March game.

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“It’s nice to get it out of the way,” Skenes said, with a laugh.

3. WBC blues: Pirates manager Don Kelly was dismissive when asked postgame if he thought playing in the World Baseball Classic proved disruptive to the ramp-up for Skenes, who pitched in only two Grapefruit League games.

“I don’t, just because that game could have happened whether the World Baseball Classic happened or not,” Kelly said. “I don’t think the World Baseball Classic played anything into that.”

It might be fair to wonder whether it affected Cruz. He played in 10 Grapefruit League games for the Pirates but missed some valuable playing time in center field while serving as designated hitter for the Dominican Republic.

4. Lowe and behold: Brandon Lowe made Pirates history by hitting his first pitch from Freddy Peralta for a two-run home run to right field. The ball was wind-aided but had a 103.5-mph exit velocity and 47-degree launch angle.

Lowe is one of four players in franchise history to arrive from another team and homer in his first plate appearance with the Pirates, joining the likes of Edward Olivares (2024), Reggie Sanders (2003) and John Vander Wal (2000). Both Olivares and Vander Wal had pinch-hit homers.

Both Lowe and Ryan O’Hearn, who signed a two-year, $29 million free-agent deal, went 2 for 4 with homers in their first game with the Pirates. Lowe homered twice, hitting a 1-0 fastball from Peralta for a solo shot in the third inning.

“You’re with a new team and you want to make a good impression,” said Lowe, acquired from Tampa Bay in a three-team trade in December. “It was nice to get the ball rolling pretty early.”

5. On the flip side: Searching for positives for the Pirates?

Nick Gonzales started at third base and went 2 for 4 with a two-run double in the ninth. Henry Davis hit an RBI double to drive in Gonzales after he singled to start the fifth.

Yohan Ramirez relieved Skenes and, after a passed ball by Davis put two runners in scoring position, got Lindor to fly out to left to end the first frame. Ramirez had three strikeouts against one walk while giving up one hit in 2 1/3 innings.

 

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While Mason Montgomery, Isaac Mattson and Justin Lawrence allowed a combined six runs on six hits and five walks with three strikeouts, the bullpen wasn’t all bad.

Lefty reliever Gregory Soto was impressive in throwing strikes on all eight pitches and recording strikeouts of Polanco and Robert in a clean eighth that served as the only 1-2-3 inning for the Pirates.