Phillies start off Opening Day ringing the victory bell as they defeat the Atlanta Braves 10-4.
Citizen’s Bank Park was rocking like 2008 as they welcome this highly-anticipated Phillies squad with high expectations even in a difficult National League East division.
Bryce Harper and Andrew McCutchen ,particularly, interacted with the fans and helped build the awesome atmosphere that this ballpark hasn’t seen in quite awhile.
Although Bryce Harper finished with two strikeouts, a groundout, and a walk, the Phils did not disappoint as their depth offensively really showed with Andrew McCutchen, Maikel Franco, and Rhys Hoskins all hitting homeruns. In addition, players deep in the bottom half of the lineup like Cesar Hernandez played a crucial role in getting on base and directly contributing to runs on the board , again showing how deep the hitting prowess is on this team.
Nola, who earned third place in Cy Young voting last year, started the game a little shaky throwing five walks in six innings. However, once the Phillies grabbed the lead, Nola did a phenomenal job of maintaining composure and keeping the Braves distanced the entire game, only allowing one earned run and throwing eight strikeouts.
From Cutch’s leadoff HR to Bryce bowing to the right field crowd, there is a new energy in South Philadelphia as baseball seems to be back in the spotlight again for the first time since the early part of the decade. Hopefully ,this team can repeat the good fortune of the Phillies a decade ago.
Just The Phacts 