PHILADELPHIA -- The Phillies opened their latest season of World Series championship expectations on Thursday afternoon at Citizens Bank Park with one of their aces on the mound and a familiar lineup that ranked as one of baseball’s best last year, despite its postseason shortcomings.
It all showed up on Opening Day.
Cristopher Sánchez had an historic performance in a 5-3 victory over the Rangers, striking out 10 in six scoreless innings. Kyle Schwarber smacked an opposite-field two-run home run. Alec Bohm hit an opposite-field three-run homer. The Phillies needed closer Jhoan Duran for the final couple outs -- becoming the first Phillies pitcher to earn a save at home on Opening Day -- but it was a game that offered evidence that the Phillies should be in the mix again to win a championship in October.
“I really do believe that we’ve got a pretty complete team here,” Schwarber said. “And, obviously, there’s going to be a course of 162 [games] that we’re going to have to navigate. There will be ups and downs. You’re not going 162-0, but we all have the right mindsets here. We’re all looking forward to getting back here on Saturday, and expecting to win a baseball game.”
Everything starts with starting pitching, of course.
The Phillies had Major League Baseball’s best rotation last year, which included Sánchez. He finished second for the NL Cy Young Awawrd behind Pittsburgh’s Paul Skenes. It’s why the Phils named Sánchez their Opening Day starter, becoming the third pitcher in franchise history born outside the United States to start the opener. The others were Venezuelan Omar Daal in 2001 and Canadian Oscar Judd in 1946.
“It’s a privilege,” the Dominican lefty said via interpreter Diego D'Aniello.
Sánchez made it special. He became the sixth pitcher since at least 1900 with at least 10 strikeouts and zero walks over six or more scoreless innings on Opening Day, joining a group that includes Hall of Famer Bob Gibson (1967) and Phillies lefty Chris Short (1968).
Sánchez was the first Phillies pitcher with double-digit strikeouts on Opening Day since Curt Schilling’s franchise-record 11 in 1997. It was just the Phillies' fourth such performance overall.
“He was as good as advertised,” Rangers manager Skip Schumaker said.
“He’s a bonafide superstar in the game,” Rangers first baseman Jake Burger said.
Schwarber’s first-inning homer gave the Phillies a 2-0 lead. Bohm’s two-out homer in the fifth -- following strikeouts by Schwarber and Bryce Harper -- made it 5-0.
Schwarber’s blast was nothing unusual. He hit an NL-best 56 homers last season.
Bohm’s wasn’t quite as expected. He homered 70 times in the first six years of his career, including a career-high 20 in 2023. He isn’t the “prototypical cleanup hitter,” which he acknowledged last month during Spring Training.
“I put the ball in play,” he said. “I’m contact over power. I will strike out less, hit more, walk less. But what I can do is be somebody behind those guys that they still don’t necessarily want to pitch to in a situation with guys on base, because they know I can move the ball around the yard.”
The Phillies are pulling hard for Bohm’s success because they like him and because they hear the criticism.
“He takes a lot of … stuff,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said.
Bohm might not be the prototypical cleanup hitter, but he can be somebody with 40 doubles, 20 homers and 100 RBIs.
“I’m never going to put a quantity on a guy,” Schwarber said. “I don’t ever want to feel like someone has to chase numbers. I feel like the way that he takes his at-bats, his profile and his game, it plays for us -- and it plays for a lot of teams. He doesn’t need to go out there and feel like he needs to do anything. I feel like he just needs to go out there and be himself. And when he does that … you saw today.”
Bohm will be a free agent after the season, so there could be pressure to perform. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported on Thursday that Bohm is suing his parents, alleging that they defrauded him of millions.
“I’m not going to address any personal matters right now,” Bohm said. “I’ll answer any questions about the game.”
So, Bohm talked about how his homer “reaffirms that I’m not trying too hard. If I’m up there trying too hard, then I don’t give myself a chance to catch the ball a little and hit it the other way.”
Like Schwarber said, it’s one game. Schwarber was asked if he felt the Phils needed to make a statement following how last season ended against the Dodgers in the NLDS.
“It’s an interesting question,” he said. “I haven’t really thought about it like that. … The first day is always going to get you excited. It's going to give you the butterflies. Those games keep you going through August, September and looking forward to getting to the postseason, getting back into those positions to hold up a trophy and to find your way there. We’ve got a group here that’s a really good group.”