Alright, raise your hand if you saw Opening Day going this way for the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Put your hand down, you’re lying. And it’s ok, I didn’t expect this either.

In his first start of the season, the New York Mets lit Paul Skenes up. Skenes surrendered four hits, five earned runs, two walks, a hit by pitch, and could not get out of the first inning before he exited the game.

Yes, some of the runs charged to Skenes were due to forces outside of his control (and we’ll talk about that), but he looked off from the first pitch and was never able to correct course.

But in this wonky, 11-7 loss to open the season, there’s so much to take away. Here’s three takeaways I have from Opening Day.

The Position Players Are As Advertised

Over the winter, the organization’s plan was quite clear: improve the offense. Several big bats were brought in with the hope of lifting Pittsburgh’s production out of the basement and into respectable territory.

But in prioritizing acquisitions and roster construction, it became clear that a significant amount of defense was sacrificed in order to make the batting order better. On paper, that’s no big deal. But when the games are actually played, it can get rather maddening.

A lot of the new Buccos stepped up big-time in this opener.

Brandon Lowe, the acquisition with probably the highest expectations placed on him given his track record of power, smacked a two-run homer on the first ever pitch he saw as a Pirate, and added a second home run in his next plate appearance in the third inning.

Ryan O’Hearn hit one deep as well, combining for some signs of life coming out of Pittsburgh’s offense despite a rough day overall. Even some of the depth players chipped in as well. Henry Davis had an RBI double, and Nick Gonzales brought home a pair in the ninth.

This team looked much better offensively on Opening Day than we saw last year. But they also looked far worse defensively.

Oneil Cruz’s back-to-back gaffes in center field was the turning point in this game. It led to the Mets knocking Skenes out before the first inning was over, and gave New York a comfortable enough lead to fend off any Pirate attack later on.

But while the heat is rightfully on Cruz, he was not the only one who played the field poorly. The infield contributed to several misplays, and the array of relievers trotted out there looked just as rusty with the glove.

Remarkably, the Pirates were only charged with one error in this game, but that’s besides the point. That was a disastrous defensive effort from the Bucs, and a less-than-stellar defense is something we will have to both adjust to, and hope rapidly improves.

This was the team we were advertised: better with the bat, worse with the web. We just have to hope that most days, the Pirates can out-score (and out-pitch) those lapses.

Yohan Ramírez Was Ready To Go

Any time the Pirates were out there on defense yesterday, it was a pretty rough watch. They just didn’t look ready to play, from the infield, to the outfield, to the guy on the mound.

Pittsburgh’s pitching, still considered the strong side of this team, allowed 11 hits, issued nine walks, and surrendered a pair of home runs. It was a nightmare from a unit garnering high praise before the season started.

But one arm who was certainly ready to go today was Yohan Ramírez.

The righty was the first one warming up in the bullpen when Skenes found himself in trouble in the first. The 30-year-old was called upon with two outs in the first, and tasked with helping an unsuspecting bullpen of now accounting for several innings they had no intention of participating in.

After a passed ball during his first batter, Ramírez was able to get Francisco Lindor (batting for the second time in the first) to fly out, mercifully ending the inning from hell for the Pirates.

Ramírez pitched a clean second and third inning for the Pirates, giving his team a chance to try and climb back into the afternoon outing early on. In total, Ramírez accounted for 2.1 innings, holding the Mets to one hit, one walk, and no runs while picking up his first three strikeouts of the year.

He was Pittsburgh’s best pitcher yesterday. On a day where there wasn’t a lot of encouraging sights during the bottom of any given inning, Ramírez was a rare bright spot.

Don Kelly Has Guts

It’s safe to say I was pretty shocked to see the performance that Skenes had out there today. It was, without hyperbole, the worst outing of his professional career.

But I think I may have been even more shocked to see manager Don Kelly pull him from that game when he did. With one out needed in the first inning and Skenes rapidly approaching a 40-pitch frame, Kelly stepped out of the dugout to make a decision I’m sure wasn’t even remotely on his radar.

After pitching coach Bill Murphy and the infield had surrounded the ace for a discussion earlier in the inning, Kelly gave Skenes the hook before the first inning was over. A joyous Mets crowd cheered as Skenes, still stoic as ever, walked off the field, ending the shortest start of his major league career and a historically off performance.

But even with how much New York had knocked the first overall pick around, it was stunning to see Kelly yank him when he did. That’s the reigning Cy Young winner, the face of the franchise, and your best hope of a winning season. If anyone had the grace of a manager or the ability to buy more time on the mound, it’s him.

That’s a gusty decision from Skenes. It’s the right one; it doesn’t overexert Skenes in a 162-game season and hopefully helps get him a mental reset, but man it is still gutsy.

Kelly won a lot of fans over last season just by simply not being Derek Shelton. The Pittsburgh native further won over the populous when he wasn’t afraid to bicker towards officials from the dugout and charge to the plate to argue balls and strikes.

With the implementation of the ABS challenge system this season, one of his best tactics for showing his passion and understanding of the game is now crippled. But in pulling Skenes early, he showed an involvement in the game and an outlook for the long season ahead. That’s his style as a manager.