Two days after he and his Team USA teammates fell short of World Baseball Classic gold, it was clear the loss to Venezuela was still on the mind of Paul Skenes, who described his experience as "not good enough."

"Obviously want to win," Skenes said today at LECOM Park. "But in terms of being around the guys, it was pretty dang cool being in that clubhouse. Just have to finish the job." 

Now that he's back with his Pirates teammates in Bradenton Fla., Skenes appears eager to get things going. He'll be the first of the team's pitchers to take the mound against the Mets next Thursday in Flushing, N.Y., earning his second straight opening day start, per Don Kelly.

"I’m ready to go," said Skenes, who will make one final spring start Saturday against the Blue Jays. "Getting back to camp’s nice. Nice that we have a few days left to get back around the team. But it’s go time." 

Skenes views another opening day nod as just another opportunity to start a meaningful game. There's no personal attachment to that particular achievement, but he certainly intends to set the tone right out of the gate. There's hope others will follow, as the Pirates aim to be a more difficult opponent to play against in 2026. 

"Just want to be grinders, play the game the right way, play hard," Skenes said. "I’ve heard about what it’s been like the past two and a half weeks. I was definitely encouraged by what I saw before I left. In 24 hours since I returned to Bradenton, I’m seeing all the right things. But we’ll see. We’ll see come opening day. We’ll see a month into the season, two months into the season. There’s still time to form that identity. Just gotta come out playing hard, playing the game the right way, attacking. I think if we do that, we’ll be in a good spot."