Pirates

Pirates Preview: Happy Opening Day!

Published

3 weeks ago

March 27, 2025

Happy Opening Day, Pittsburgh Pirates’ fans!

The start of the 2025 season is upon us as the Pittsburgh Pirates are in Miami for the start of a four-game series with the Marlins at loanDepot Park.

It’s the second year in a row that the Pirates are in Miami for Opening Day. Last season, the Pirates pulled out a 6-5 victory in the season opener over the Marlins in 12 innings and went on to take all four games of the series.

Thursday’s game is set for 4:10 p.m. ET and the game will be broadcast on SportsNet Pittsburgh.

Weather

loanDepot Park has a retractable roof, so weather will not be a factor this series.

RHP Paul Skenes Will Start for the Pirates

Year two in the career of Paul Skenes gets underway.

The big right-hander was named the 2024 National League Rookie of the Year after a historic first season with the Pirates. Skenes wrapped up his rookie campaign with an 11-3 record and a sparkling 1.96 ERA.

Skenes, who finished third in the NL Cy Young race, set the Pirates’ rookie record with 170 strikeouts on the season. After making his debut on May 11, no starting pitcher in baseball had a lower ERA.

Skenes faced the Marlins once last season in September and allowed one run with nine strikeouts in 6.0 innings.

RHP Sandy Alcántara Will Start for the Marlins

Alcántara returns to the mound for the Marlins for the first time since 2023 after missing last season with Tommy John surgery.

The right-hander went 7-12 with a 4.14 ERA in 2023, a year after he won the Cy Young award in 2022. That season, Alcántara went 14-9 with a 2.28 ERA and threw a whopping six complete games and a total of 228.2 innings.

Alcántara had an excellent spring showing in which he was not charged with an earned run across 12.1 innings pitched.

He’s faced the Pirates six previous times and is 1-0 with a 2.91 ERA.

Marlins Hitters vs. Skenes

Xavier Edwards: 2 for 3
Jonah Bride: 1 for 3, two strikeouts
Griffin Conine: 0 for 3, two strikeouts
Otto López: 2 for 2, one RBI

Pirates Hitters vs. Alcántara

Adam Frazier: 7 for 15, one double, two home runs, five RBIs, one walk, one strikeout
Andrew McCutchen: 1 for 11, two walks, five strikeouts
Ke’Bryan Hayes: 4 for 10, four strikeouts
Bryan Reynolds: 0 for 8, two walks, two strikeouts
Isiah Kiner-Falefa: 1 for 4, one RBI, one strikeout
Joey Bart: 2 for 2, one home run, one RBI, two walks
Oneil Cruz: 1 for 2, one home run, one RBI

Tidbits

The Pirates went a perfect 7-0 against the Marlins and have one eight-straight games against them dating back to the 2023 season.
The Pirates will look to make it three-straight wins on Opening Day for the first time since winning five-straight season openers from 2007-11.
Paul Skenes enters the season as the National League favorite to win the Cy Young with +200 odds. Zack Wheeler (Phillies) is a distant second at +600.