PHILADELPHIA -- Given all the pomp and circumstance surrounding it, Opening Day is always one of the best days on the baseball calendar.
Here are five of the most memorable moments in Phillies’ Opening Day history:
1. April 5, 2010: Halladay’s debut
In perhaps the most highly anticipated Opening Day in franchise history, Roy Halladay, whom the Phillies acquired in a trade the previous December, allowed one run in seven innings against the Nationals at Nationals Park. Halladay struck out nine in the 11-1 victory. Ryan Howard and Placido Polanco each homered and Jimmy Rollins tripled as the Phillies started their march toward the fourth of five consecutive National League East titles.
2. April 6, 1974: Michael Jack’s walk-off
Mike Schmidt hit a two-run walk-off home run against Mets closer and future teammate Tug McGraw in a 4-3 win at Veterans Stadium. It was the second of Schmidt’s 10 career walk-off hits. His first came in 1973, when he hit a walk-off homer off Bob Gibson.
3. April 1, 2011: A walk-off thriller
Halladay allowed one run in six innings when the Phillies went to the bullpen in the seventh. The Astros scored three runs against J.C. Romero and David Herndon to take a 4-0 lead, but the Phillies scored twice against Brett Myers in the seventh to make it 4-2. The Phillies rallied for three runs in the ninth against Astros closer Brandon Lyon for a walk-off win, capped by Wilson Valdez’s game-tying single and pinch-hitter John Mayberry Jr.’s game-winning hit.
4. April 12, 1916: Stock’s scamper seals it
The defending NL-champion Phillies enjoyed a 5-4 walk-off victory over the Giants at Baker Bowl. With the game tied in the ninth, 4-4, Giants pitcher Sailor Stroud walked Milt Stock with two outs. The “piano-legged” Stock, as described by The Philadelphia Inquirer, stole second when Giants catcher Bill Rariden dropped the pitch. Stock reached third on a wild pitch and scored the game-winner when Stroud uncorked another wild pitch that “soared four feet above Rariden’s onion.”
5. March 27, 2025: Better late than never
How to round out this top five? There were several candidates. Curt Schilling struck out 11 in eight scoreless innings in an Opening Day win over the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium in 1997. The Phillies scored an Opening Day-best 14 runs in a 14-10 victory over the Rangers in 2014. The Whiz Kids set the tone with a 9-1 victory over the Dodgers in 1950. Pete Rose and Co. set the tone in a 6-3 victory over the Expos in 1980.
But we’re choosing something far more recent. Coming off a disappointing first-round exit at the hands of the rival Mets in the 2024 postseason, the Phillies appeared to be picking up right where they left off for much of the afternoon in this Opening Day tilt at Nationals Park. Nats starter MacKenzie Gore struck out 13 batters while allowing just one hit over six scoreless innings ... but then the Phillies erupted against Washington's bullpen.
With Zack Wheeler keeping the Phils in it with six innings of one-run ball, Bryce Harper hit a game-tying homer in the seventh and Kyle Schwarber added a go-ahead shot just two batters later. After the Nats rallied to force extras, the Phillies pushed across four runs in the top of the 10th to pull off a wildly entertaining 7-3 victory.