Pittsburgh Pirates vs New York Mets Prediction, Odds and Picks for Thursday, 03/26/26

The first game of Opening Day belongs to the New York Mets and the Pittsburgh Pirates. We have the most exciting pitcher in baseball pitching in the Big Apple to start the season. Hopes are running high in Pittsburgh this season, and this team expects to compete all summer. On the other side, the Mets took some hits to the roster in the offseason, and probably none bigger than the loss of Pete Alonso to the Orioles in free agency. Then they got injury news in early spring training that Francisco Lindor had a hamate injury. Lindor appears to be on track for the opener, but might be limited for a few weeks. I think we can take plus money on the Pirates to open the season with a win.

I am not yet convinced of the Pirates over the long haul, but they should come out of the gates ready to prove themselves. I like this pitching staff, but the veteran bats they added are mostly old and unexciting. But on days when Skenes throws, they don’t have to produce many runs to win. Freddy Peralta will be good in New York, but will he be locked in from the first start? I am also skeptical of the Mets’ lineup for now. Lindor will take some time to regain his power, and after Juan Soto, we have three new faces in Bo Bichette, Jorge Polanco, and Luis Robert, and it might take some time to get them all playing well together. I will take my chances with Skenes in the opener.

Pirates vs Mets Prediction: Pirates ML (+110) available at the time of publishing. Playable to +100.