2025 Opening Day preview: Pittsburgh Pirates vs. Miami Marlins

MIAMI, FL—Opening Day has finally arrived. We are getting a rematch of last year's season opener between the Miami Marlins and Pittsburgh Pirates, except with an even better pitching matchup to enjoy. It'll be the 2022 National League Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcantara facing 2024 National League Rookie of the Year winner Paul Skenes. Although the home team will have to overcome a lot of obstacles to be competitive in 2025, the first game of any season always comes with good vibes.

Here's the latest on the Marlins and some information on starter Paul Skenes and the Pirates.

Pitching Matchups & Game Times

Thursday: RHP Sandy Alcantara vs. RHP Paul Skenes, 4:10 pm

Friday: RHP Connor Gillispie vs. RHP Mitch Keller, 7:10 pm

Saturday: RHP Valente Bellozo vs. LHP Bailey Falter, 4:10 pm

Sunday: RHP Max Meyer vs. LHP Andrew Heaney, 1:10 pm

Marlins Updates
Taking the mound for the Marlins on Thursday will be ace Sandy Alcantara. His fifth Opening Day start may be the one he's most motivated for. The last time he threw a pitch in a regular season game was on September 3, 2023 against the Washington Nationals.

"I was out for more than 17 months," said Alcantara on Opening Day eve. "Now I'm back, I'm super excited to be out there tomorrow and show people that I was working to be out there to represent my country and my team."

Alcantara did note in his press conference that a pitch count has been set for Thursday. It was a conversation that he had with pitching coach Daniel Moskos and manager Clayton McCullough. Alcantara only maxed out at four innings and 57 pitches during Grapefruit League action, though he did have one more tune-up last week on the backfields to continue stretching out.

During the midst of the press conference, the Marlins swung a trade with the Philadelphia Phillies, acquiring right-handed pitcher Tyler Phillips in exchange for cash considerations. Reliever Seth Martinez was designated for assignment as the corresponding move.

Last season, Phillips made eight appearances (seven starts) and posted a 6.87 ERA, 5.57 FIP, 6.87 K/9 and 1.72 BB/9 through 36 ⅔ innings pitched. He made seven appearances (one start) in spring training games, but struggled, posting a 7.59 ERA. Phillips' pitch mix consists of a sinker (30.3%), sweeper (29.2%), four-seam fastball (19.2%), curveball (14.4%) and changeup (6.9%).

Expect Phillips to be a bulk guy during this first series of the season.

Within the bullpen, the only lefty that will make the Opening Day roster is Anthony Veneziano. After getting off to a great start this spring, he cooled off, but still finished with a 3.18 ERA in 10 appearances.

Per Daniel Álvarez-Montes of El Extrabase, utility man Javier Sanoja has made the roster as well. Fish On First's 20th-ranked prospect is the youngest player since José Fernández and Christian Yelich (2014) to make a Marlins Opening Day roster. This spring, Sanoja slashed .229/.250/.286/.536 with two RBI. He will be playing all over the field—in a short stint with the big league team last year, he played four different positions.

Our own Alex Krutchik reported that third baseman Graham Pauley has made the Marlins roster. After being optioned to Triple-A Jacksonville on March 16, he will be recalled on Thursday in light of the Connor Norby left oblique strain. Norby will miss about four weeks. In 11 spring games, Pauley slashed .286/.355/.429/.784 with one home run and five RBI. Now, it's just a matter of how much playing time he'll receive (Jonah Bride, Eric Wagaman and Sanoja can all play third base, too).

Introducing the Pittsburgh Pirates

Last season, the Pirates posted a 76-86 overall record, which included going a perfect 7-0 against the Marlins last season. After going 48-48 in the first half, the Pirates fell off, finishing 28-38.

One of the bright spots in 2024 was National League Rookie of the Year Paul Skenes. The top MLB draft pick in 2023 was even more dominant than advertised with a 1.96 ERA, 2.44 FIP, 11.5 K/9 and 2.2 BB/9 through 133 innings pitched. That ERA was the lowest amongst qualified pitchers in baseball from the time he debuted (May 11) through the end of the season.

Skenes' arsenal already includes a four-seam fastball, splinker, curveball, sweeper, slider and changeup. His best pitch is the splinker, which averages 94.0 mph and had hitters whiffing 29.3% of the time. He threw it 603 times as a rookie and allowed only one home run.

In his lone start against the Marlins, Skenes went six innings, allowing one run off of six hits, walking one and striking out nine. Otto Lopez had the lone RBI. He and Xavier Edwards each had a multi-hit day off of Skenes.

Last season, Pirates starting pitchers ranked 15th in ERA and fWAR. As for the bullpen, they were 27th in ERA and 18th in fWAR, in part because of the down season that closer David Bednar had. He posted a 5.77 ERA, 4.80 FIP, 9.05 K/9, 4.37 BB/9 and 23 saves through 62 appearances. Despite that, Bednar is expected to open 2025 in the closer's role again.

Offensively, the Pirates ranked 28th in baseball in wRC+ and fWAR. Former shortstop Oneil Cruz enters his first full year as a center fielder. He's coming off a nice season, slashing .259/.324/.449/.773 with 21 home runs, 76 RBI and a 110 wRC+. Pittsburgh legend Andrew McCutchen produced better than the league average as a 37-year-old, slashing .232/.328/.411/.739 with 20 home runs, 50 RBI and a 105 wRC+. He'll still be a big piece for the Pirates as he goes into his age-38 season. They will be expecting a lot more from talented third baseman Ke'Bryan Hayes after he slashed .233/.283/.290/.573 with only four homers in 96 games.

This offseason, the Pirates were relatively quiet. They signed Andrew Heaney, Tommy Pham and Adam Frazier to one-year deals and added middle relief depth. Their biggest trade acquisition, Spencer Horwitz, is beginning the year on the injured list.