Friday, March 29, 2019

Game 1 - Phils Have Grand Opening Day

2019 Topps Phillies #PP-17
2019 Topps Phillies #PP-18
2019 Topps Phillies #PP-2
2019 Topps Phillies #PP-4
2019 Topps Phillies #PP-1
Phillies 10, Braves 4
Game 1 - Thursday Afternoon, March 28th in Philadelphia
Record - 1-0, Tied for 1st place, 1 game ahead of the Braves, Marlins and Nationals

One Sentence Summary:  Andrew McCutchen started the scoring with a lead-off home run and Maikel Franco and Rhys Hoskins sealed the win with their big hits as the Phillies downed the Braves on opening day, 10-4.

What It Means:  Baseball is back and this was an electric day for Phillies fans!  Everyone was excited to welcome Bryce Harper to Philadelphia, but his debut was somewhat forgettable with the exception of his Phanatic-inspired cleats.  Harper went 0 for 3 with a pair of strikeouts.

What Happened:  McCutchen somehow managed to increase the energy level in the ballpark with his first inning home run (1).  Odubel Herrera and Cesar Hernandez added clutch, two-out singles in the 4th to give the Phillies a 3-1 lead.  Franco hit a 3-run home run (1) in the 6th and Hoskins followed that with his first career grand slam (1) in the 7th.

Aaron Nola (1-0) was victimized by a tight strike zone, walking a career high 5, but he allowed only 2 hits and struck out 8 in his 6 innings of work.

Featured Cards/Field Report:  I couldn't decide, so it's a quintet of cards from the Topps Phillies retail team set which includes an unannounced 18th card for Harper.  This set along with the team photo card set were the first purchases made this season.  Doug and I attended this game together, sitting someplace new for us - Section 127 between home plate and the visitor's dugout.  I imagine that section is ideal in the summer, but we were in the shade the entire game and a little chilly.  Doug snagged his first autograph of the year down by the Phillies dugout getting Aaron Altherr to sign his score card.

The ballpark had more energy and noise than it has had in a very long time.  It was crowded, the lines were long and we loved it.  We escaped to Harry the K's to eat dinner and watch the last few innings of the game, and we were there when Hoskins hit his grand slam.  A few minutes earlier, Doug noticed Larry Christenson walking by and he called him over for a quick picture.

Aaron Altherr's autograph
2019 Chachi Friendly Encounters #7
Transactions:  Both Roman Quinn (oblique) and Tommy Hunter (right forearm) were placed on the 10-day Injured List.  The last three non-roster invitees - Sean Rodriguez (inf), Rob Brantly (c) and Josh Martin (rhp) - were all presumably reassigned to the minors.

2 comments:

Steve F. said...

Let me just say how cool it is that your son recognized Larry Christenson. That would be like a pre-teen me recognizing, I don't know, Hugh Mulcahy or Boom Boom Beck walking by. Impressive, Doug!

Jim said...

I've trained him well. ; )