Pirates ace Paul Skenes bounced back from his worst Opening Day performance of his career with a solid start against the Reds, leading to an 8-3 victory over the Reds. Despite this, Skene's performance was not without expectations, as he had previously set a high bar for himself. His final score was 5 IP, 3 H, 1 R, 2 BB, 2 K, 5 K. Manager Don Kelly stated that the early exit was part of the plan to ease Szenes onto a full workload and focus on the long haul. Despite his previous performance being a disaster for any MLB pitcher taking the ball on Opening Day, this performance was deemed acceptable. Skenese had a 1.96 ERA and 0.79 WHIP entering the season in 55 career starts, but this isn't even close to an overwhelming line.