The phillies are victorious in their home opener vs. The Braves.
Phillies won their home opener against the Braves 3-2. The first run was from Alec Bohm in the bottom of the first inning. Alec Bohm,with a bases-loaded sacrifice fly, to left field manages to score Andrew McCutchen. The second run comes from the BCIB, J.T. Realmuto who singled scoring Rhys Hoskins in the bottom of the third. The final, third run, comes from our top play of the game and from Jean Segura. Continue reading to discover what led us to victory.
The game went 10 innings. Aaron Nola pitched outstandingly for 6 of those innings. Nola only let up three singles and a double but he manage to shut the Brave’s offense down, leaving them scoreless. However, in the 7th, that changed. Aaron Nola gave up a homerun to Pablo Sandoval and was removed in the 7th. The 2-run homerun by Sandoval tied the game at 2. This set us up for extra innings and some of the best plays of the game.
Joe Girardi spoke prior to the game, “I’ve been through a number of opening days. They’re always exciting, there’s always butterflies. I don’t know, I feel like this one is different,” What he is referring to is the ability to have fans in the stands in the wake of Covid-19. “This win is special – the first one as a player, the first as a manager. But this one feels unique because we missed the fans last year. It’s a whole different sensation, like getting our lives back on track. No more artificial crowd noise; it felt alive again. Baseball is undoubtedly better with the fans’ energy in the stands.”
The Bullpen was improved.
The Phillies got the chance to showcase their bullpen and for now, they didn’t disappoint. Unlike last season where most of the troubles were plagued in the bullpen. This season, they looked stronger. They threw for 3 1/2 scoreless innings.
Jose Alvalrado looked like he may have been struggling a bit. At one point, Jose Alvarado loaded the bases on a walk, a one-out single and a two-out hit. Alvarado made it out of the jam unscathed. After a foul ball crushed, that was too close for comfort, Alvarado settled down and struck out Pache on a 2-2 sinker that registered 100 mph. Hector Neris pitched a perfect 9th without incident.
Overall, there were some amazing plays that made this game a great start for the phillies. Here’s our top five defensive and offensive plays of the game in the phillies opening day debut.
5 Top Phillies plays of the game; Home Opening Day.
5. Jean segura steals a bag to move to scoring position. This one doesn’t lead to a score but Jean Segura’s aggressiveness and lack of fear in stealing bases is nice to witness. Sometimes, simply putting yourself in scoring position can make the game.
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4. With runners on second and third in the sixth inning, Alec Bohm nabbed a line shot off the bat of Marcell Ozuna for the precision play of the game.
Height played a key role in Alec Bohm’s abilty to execute the play. Aaron Nola remarked, “If he’s not that tall I don’t think he would’ve been able to catch it.”
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3. Top of the 10th, Albies runs to third on a groundball from Freddie Freeman. Then, Roman Quinn catches a fly ball at center field for the out and fires it to J.T. Realmuto at 95.3 mph toward home plate. J.T. Realmuto cuts Albies off at the plate with impecable blocking, catches the throw on a hop, landing the tag out.
That'll play. pic.twitter.com/9nbJpntn3R
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) April 1, 2021
2. Top of the 9th, running from shallow left, Didi Gregorious executes a glorious over the shoulder grab. He had to fight the wind, which at times felt like a 10th player working for and against them, taking control of the ball. Didi Gregorious fell to his back catching the popup from Albies.
You have to see it to to witness the play in its full glory.
Didiiiiiiiii!!!! pic.twitter.com/aMf14UGKUY
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) April 1, 2021
1. Extra innings can always lead to excitement or anxiety and during the Phillies Home Opener it was the former. At the bottom of the 10th Inning, Jean Segura hits a walkoff single to left field to score Bryce Harper. Thereby, securing the win. And the celebration? Well, he did it in style, playfully, running away from his teammates with his arms stretched out to either side. Segura avoided his teammates temporarily as they chased him across the field. Jean Segura’s teammates finally caught him mobbing him with celebration.
👖👖👖 #RingTheBell pic.twitter.com/010657oZTP
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) April 1, 2021
What did the skipper, Joe Girardi have to say about his players’ performance?
“Defense was a focus in spring training. We asked them to do some things different, kind of get out of your comfort zone a little bit and try our way. They all agreed to do it.” Needless to say, Girardi is proud of the work his players put in and the results they yielded.
