The 2026 MLB season kicked off Wednesday night as the Yankees throttled the Giants, 7\u20130, but Thursday is when things really got going. In all, 22 teams took the field on MLB\u2019s Opening Day, representing nearly a full slate of action. <\/p>\n
There were some incredible moments throughout the full day of baseball, starting off with an extremely short outing from Pirates ace Paul Skenes<\/a>. Various bits of MLB history were made throughout the day, with players like Roman Anthony, Jhoan Duran and Kevin McGonigle, among others, etching their place in the league\u2019s lore. <\/p>\n So, let\u2019s revisit some of the best moments of 2026 Opening Day. <\/p>\n Mets chase Paul Skenes early<\/p>\n On the heels of his NL Cy Young-winning campaign, Skenes had some lofty expectations for his first start of the season. It ended up lasting less than a full inning. Skenes was chased before the first inning ended after recording two outs against the Mets. He certainly wasn\u2019t at his best, but it\u2019s hard to put the blame on the right-hander considering the disastrous mistakes Oneil Cruz made out in center field during the nightmare inning. Cruz made two egregious gaffes in the outfield, both of which were technically hits and thus impacted Skenes\u2019 stats (resulting in a 67.50 ERA for Skenes). <\/p>\n ONeil Cruz with two of the worst plays you’ll see from a center fielder on back-to-back pitchers <\/p>\n Horrendous start to the season pic.twitter.com\/Fjbt2LwSYh<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Baseball Quotes (@BaseballQuotes1) March 26, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Skenes threw 37 pitches in the first inning before Pittsburgh pulled the plug, and the Pirates went on to lose 11\u20137. Not the start to the season the team, nor its ace, was hoping for. <\/p>\n Jacob Misiorowski joins elite company in MLB history<\/p>\n \u201cThe Miz\u201d had a fantastic start to 2026, mowing down 11 batters in a one-run outing that spanned five innings. Misiorowski became just the seventh pitcher under the age of 24 to record 10 or more strikeouts on Opening Day, joining the likes of F\u00e9lix Hern\u00e1ndez, Gary Nolan, Gary Bell, Don Drysdale, Herb Score and Bob Seller. Not bad company. <\/p>\n All 11 of Jacob Misiorowski’s strikeouts, a Brewers Opening Day record pic.twitter.com\/LsdUaPwZQx<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Talkin’ Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) March 26, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n Misiorowski\u2019s 11 strikeouts also set the Brewers\u2019 record for most strikeouts on Opening Day. In all, he threw 94 pitches and surrendered two hits, one run and three walks. <\/p>\n Rookies reign supreme<\/p>\n There were many players making their MLB debuts on Thursday, including four players who hit home runs. Among the league\u2019s newcomers to go yard on Opening Day included Mets outfielder Carson Benge, Cardinals future star JJ Wetherholt, White Sox infielder Munetaka Murakami and Guardians outfielder Chase DeLauter. <\/p>\n Chase DeLauter has arrived.<\/p>\n It’s not too early to start the AL Rookie of the Year conversation.#GuardsBall<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/lFhgt8niJY<\/a><\/p>\n