On a day that already felt like Christmas morning for Phillies fans, the ballpark had an added air of occasion before the game even began. Throughout the concourse the sound of the fife and drums could be heard playing as colonial soldiers marched through the bustling crowds queuing up for the team store or to grab a bite and a beer before the Opening Day festivities.
This Phillies’ season is set to be extra special as the city celebrates the 250th anniversary of the birth of our nation right here in Philadelphia, an All-Star game at Citizens Bank Park just months away, and of course, another run at a World Series title. In honor of the historic happenings, the continental army was enlisted once again to help herald in the new season, including two riders on horseback bearing the newly-minted flag of a young nation and, of course—baseballs for the main event.
Even the Phillie Phanatic was dressed in traditional colonial garb complete with tricorn hat and would later lead a regiment in a rousing dance routine to the YMCA on top of the dugout in the 7th.
The stage was set for Philadelphia to both honor and make history on this beautiful Opening Day
In keeping with opening day tradition, the team made their way through Ashburn Alley and down through the stands, high-fiving and fist-bumping eager fans as they made their way down to the field. Introductions gave way to a beautiful rendition of the national anthem by Kane Kalas, son of legendary broadcaster Harry Kalas who passed away in 2009 and would have celebrated his 90th birthday on opening day. The beloved voice of the Phillies has been back in the headlines after news broke that the Phillies had sold the naming rights to his namesake, Harry the K’s, heading into this season.
As Kalas belted out the last bars of the Star Spangled Banner and the 177th Fighter Wing of the New Jersey Air National Guard zipped through the sky overhead, the sold-out crowd was absolutely buzzing and eager for the game to get underway.
The day looked set to be a pitcher’s duel based on the top talent getting ready to battle it out on the mound. The Phillies would be rolling out southpaw Cristopher Sanchez with Zack Wheeler still recovering from his offseason surgery, replacing an ace with an ace. Sanchez finished 2025 with a 13-5 record and 2.50 ERA in 32 starts, finishing second in National League (NL) Cy Young voting.
Pitching for the Rangers, right-hander Nathan Eovaldi would take the mound bringing in a solid stat line from 2025 with an 11-3 record in 22 games and a fantastic 1.73 ERA. Eovaldi would have been a top American League (AL) Cy Young contender before a rotator cuff strain ended his season early in late August.
The Phillies would draw first blood in the bottom of the first, in the form of a Kyle Schwarber two-run opposite field home run just over the left field wall after Trea Turner led things off by beating out a throw for an infield single. The crowd erupted as Kyle was off to the races with a ‘Schwarbomb’ in his very first at bat of the season.
Phillies rookie Justin Crawford made his presence felt early, starting his MLB career with a two-out single up the middle on his first pitch in the bottom of the second. Crawford would single again in the fifth, ending his strong debut 2-4 in front of roughly 40 family members including his dad, the former MLB All-Star, Carl Crawford.
As the game entered the bottom of the 5th with the Phillies still leading 2-0, big Alec Bohm strode to the plate with two outs and Crawford and Turner on base. Bohm would launch an opposite field shot just over the right field wall, breaking the game open, putting the Phils up 5-0 and ending Eovaldi’s day as the Rangers would call on their bullpen.
Did Alec Bohm just announce his arrival as the clean up hitter the Phillies faithful have been hoping he would become over the last several years?
Sanchez would continue to shut out the Rangers through the 6th, striking out his final three batters before ending the day visibly pumped, pounding his fist into his glove as he walked off the field to a standing ovation from the crowd. He also walked off the field having made history, becoming the only MLB pitcher in the modern era to have an opening day with 10+ strikeouts, zero walks, having allowed three or fewer hits, and zero runs allowed.
Backhus Almost Blows Ninth, Duran Does Damage Control
The Phillies would rely on the bullpen to take care of business the rest of the way. Jonathan Bowlan locked down the 7th giving up just one hit, followed by Zach Pop in the 8th who ended up with a walk and the Phillies’ first ABS challenge of the season, that ended up confirming ball four by a margin that made the crowd audibly gasp and left Pop looking shocked—the pitch missed by just one-tenth of an inch. Pop would work his way out of the inning with no damage, bringing in Kyle Backhus for the 9th.
The lefty reliever with the unusual sidewinder delivery gave up a lead-off single to Corey Seager, setting up Jake Burger’s two-run home run breaking the shut out and giving the Texans life with a 5-2 ballgame in the 9th. Things continued to look dicey as Bryson Stott made a rare defensive mistake on a ground ball, tagging the runner heading from first to second with his empty glove as he threw to first, leaving the runner safe. After making the out at first, Bryce Harper’s errant throw to second to try to salvage the missed double play opportunity squirted into the outfield, sending the runner to third with only one out.
That would end Backhus’ day and the fans would be treated to closer Jhoan Duran’s epic entrance on the very first day of the season. “The Durantula” would give up a hit to Danny Jansen scoring the runner at third, making it 5-3.
Now the fans were nervous. Surely, this day which had been an absolutely perfect day to start off the season, would not end in a collapse.
Fortunately, the day ended instead with more history being made, as Duran would cause Evan Carter to hit a bouncer to first, Bryce Harper would pounce, ending the game 5-3 and marking the first time in history that a Phillie has ever recorded a save at home on opening day.
Overall, there are a lot of positives to take into the rest of the season with a fairly balanced offensive effort and a history-making pitcher sandwich that is really tough to beat in Sanchez and Duran. Brandon Marsh looked sharp with a pair of doubles on the day, Bryson Stott continued to look new and improved after his adjustments at the end of last season, going 2-for-4 on the day. Justin Crawford’s major league debut put smiles on everyone’s faces and seeing Alec Bohm hit one out of the park is a spark of hope for the four-hole slot that we just never seem to stop agonizing over.
Hopefully Bryce Harper (0-for-4), Adolis Garcia (0-for-4) and J.T. Realmuto (0-for-3) can bounce back and find their groove in game two on Saturday, as Aaron Nola gets set to take the rock for the Phillies coming off a fantastic performance for team Italy in the World Baseball Classic. He’ll take on another top pitching talent in Jacob deGrom.
A historic opening day is in the books and for now, the Phillies are undefeated.
One down, 161 to go.
