Opening Week takeaways
Even those who were optimistic about the Phillies heading into the season, I’d be hard-pressed to believe any of them saw a blistering 5-1 start out of the gates from the fightins’. Nevertheless, here they are, the best team in baseball through opening week. Simultaneously, they sent a strong statement to the fellow top competitors in the NL East that the division’s crown’s race will be nothing short of a dog fight.
There are many areas to praise throughout the Phillies’ dominant opening home stretch of the season, but none more than the previously much-maligned bullpen. Yes, the bullpen, which media outlets tirelessly addressed over the off-season, because it quite literally was the worst in history. So, anytime improvements are made to historically bad units, the team’s momentum shifts can be dynamic, as we’ve seen early on.
Harper and Realmuto’s post-game interviews last night and throughout the week speak directly to that point. They address how critically important it is, especially with an offense containing such high firepower, of just staying within striking distance and having a chance. On multiple occasions now, we’ve seen the Phillies facing a deficit of a few runs, then set ablaze for a five to six-run inning. You can see just from the approaches throughout most of the lineup, primarily working deep counts and putting the ball in play. If nothing falls early on, that consistent approach leads to an inevitable burst of the flood gates. Allocating the offense to winning the game and the arms to keep them in the game will be a huge turning point for the Phillies this season. They asked the offense to perform both of those duties throughout the entire last season.
The second-tier headliners coming out of this week are the Phillies’ three big right-handers anchoring the staff; Nola, Wheeler, and Eflin. All three of them looked nearly flawless, minus a few mistakes in their initial starts. Plus, even though Nola didn’t have his typical outing yesterday, he battled through adverse situations and only gave up one run. That is all you can ask from your ace when he doesn’t have his tightest command.
Number 45, on the other hand, may contend for Cy Young Award if he turns in more performances near to his last one. We may even DH him in interleague play. Jokes aside, Wheeler looked very Degrom like in his outing, sitting in the high 90s and triple digits for a longer duration than I ever recall previously in a Phillies uniform. He could be the guy who provides rest days for our bullpen throughout the year. Something that could prove invaluable considering Moore and Anderson will likely only go 5-6 innings, so we’ll need our pen rested for their turns in the rotation.
For Eflin, as long he keeps the ball low, he generates incredibly deceiving movement with his sinker slider combo. It’s significantly more devasting when he can mix in a darting cutter too.
Offensively, everyone knows what the capabilities are; I mean, we just saw it yesterday. Quick side note, though, it has to feel fantastic the Phillies can put up eight runs with three long balls, and not one of them has to be hit by Bryce Harper; imagine the heights this group will reach once he truly starts a hot streak. Besides that, Rhys Hoskins lately looks like his old self, and it’s so beautiful to watch. He’s not trying to pull the ball, keeping it simple and going wherever the pitch allows him to. You can see the ease in his swing. The freeness and confidence, knowing his power to all sides of the field are elite, allows his entire offensive repertoire to let loose. He’s hitting .417 at the moment. A pace we know won’t last, but if he keeps .265 and above, that means Bohm, Harper, and Realmuto will all consistently see more pitches to hit throughout the season.
Overall, what a stellar opening week of baseball for the Philadelphia Phillies. Not only 5-1 to start the season but 5-1 in the DIVISION! If Vince Valasquez didn’t come back out for a second inning, it would’ve been like Christmas all week, but that’s an issue for another time. The Phils are off to a hot start, and they have all the pieces to keep it rolling!
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Categorized:Phillies