NEW YORK — Brett Baty laced a bases-loaded triple and the New York Mets chased Paul Skenes in the first inning of his worst major league start, beating the Pittsburgh Pirates 11-7 on Thursday in their season opener at Citi Field.
Carson Benge homered in his first career game, going back-to-back with Francisco Alvarez at the bottom of a new-look lineup, and Freddy Peralta (1-0) won his Mets debut as New York improved to 42-23 on opening day before a sellout crowd of 41,449.
That’s the best record of any big league team — even though the Mets lost their first eight openers from 1962-69.
Leadoff man Francisco Lindor took a trio of free passes and scored each time. Luis Robert Jr. had two RBI singles in his Mets debut. Benge and Alvarez launched solo homers off reliever Justin Lawrence.
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