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Cristopher Sanchez and the Long Ball Power Phillies to Opening Day Victory
By Luke Arcaini
Published:
You couldn’t have asked for more perfect weather at Citizens Bank Park on Thursday afternoon. 76 degrees, sunny, and a 5-3 Phillies win.
Opening Day is truly one of the best days of the year. There’s a vibe throughout the stadium and the city in general. Game 1 of 162 feels more like a playoff game than it does a regular season game.
Kyle Schwarber homered in the last game of spring training. He jokingly said he wanted to save them for the regular season. Take a wild guess how the 2026 season started:
Phillies fans have a reason to be excited in 2026, and the biggest reason for that is Justin Crawford. After tearing up Triple-A last season, Crawford made his major league debut Thursday and wasted no time, swinging at the first pitch in his first at-bat and singling up the middle. It’ll be interesting to see how teams line up in the field against Crawford this year. Rangers third baseman Josh Jung was nearly halfway up the line playing the bunt, which will happen a lot with Crawford’s threat to lay one down.
Nathan Eovaldi settled in after the Schwarber home run, retiring 11 of the next 13 batters. Brandon Marsh roped a double in the 4th, and Crawford would slap his 2nd hit of the day to start the bottom half of the 5th inning. Crawford is the 15th player in Phillies history with 2+ hits in their major league debut on Opening Day, with the last being Bryson Stott in 2022, according to Todd Zolecki.
2026 is a big year for Alec Bohm. He’s in the final year of his contract and will be searching for a multi-year deal after the season. Bohm had a good spring, and he carried that over with a 3-run homer in the 5th inning to give the Phillies a 5-0 lead:
I thought this was an extremely positive start for the Phillies. The guys that hit, hit. Even some guys that had nothing to show for it hit the ball hard, which is good to see early. Adolis Garcia hit a ball 97 mph, along with a groundout that was an unbelievable play by Jung that left Garcia’s bat at 101 mph.
Cristopher Sanchez was extremely efficient on Thursday afternoon. He was fired up to get the nod for Opening Day and he proved why he earned it. He tossed six innings of three-hit, scoreless ball, striking out 10 batters and generating 13 swing and misses. He’s the first Phillies pitcher to log double-digit strikeouts on Opening Day since Curt Schilling in 1997.
When the Phillies traded Matt Strahm back in December, it felt to some like a salary dump. Jonathan Bowlan was the return, and he was set to be the 6th or 7th man in the Phillies pen. With Orion Kerkering starting the year on the IL, Bowlan is the 3rd righty in the bullpen after an impressive spring training. He sat 98 mph in this game, topping out at 98.5 mph. If the Phillies get the Bowlan we’ve seen over the last four weeks in 2026, he’s going to be an awesome piece in a really good bullpen.
We also had our first ABS challenge in the history of Citizens Bank Park. Zach Pop was the first Phillie to challenge and was wrong by 0.1 inches. 44,000 people booed a robot after a bit of a delay. It’s Opening Day for everybody, even the computers.
The only runs scored by the Rangers came in the 9th inning off of Kyle Backhus. Corey Seager lead off the ending frame with a single, followed by a 2-run homer from Jake Burger. Jhoan Duran was forced to enter, allowing one RBI single but getting the last two outs. The bit is over. Jhoan Duran has finally thrown in his first day game as a Phillie.
You got all you could ask for in an Opening Day victory. Good offense, good starting pitching, and good relief outings from just about everyone out of the bullpen. An all-around game puts the Phillies at 1-0 on the season. They’re off on Friday and back to action on Saturday, with Aaron Nola squaring off against Jacob deGrom.
Luke Arcaini writes about the Phillies for Crossing Broad, covers the Phillies for FOX Sports The Gambler, and co-hosts "Phillies Digest" on YouTube. The wave is the worst thing in all of sports. Contact: lukearcaini8@gmail.com