Game one in the books – Let’s overreact!

Should we draw sweeping conclusions from one game? Of course we should!

With 1/162 of the season completed, I think it’s time to make some sweeping conclusions about the team based on the evidence at hand. Honestly, this is probably past due. I should have written this in the sixth inning of Thursday’s game.

Note: I used to write things like this with the naive belief that people could pick up on sarcasm. I have learned that no matter how blindingly obvious I think I’m being, some people will still miss it. So, let’s make it clear: This piece has been written with a sarcastic tone, and I think drawing any conclusions about a baseball team after one game is foolish.

Additional note: If you don’t like content like this, take it up with Major League Baseball who schedule an off day after Opening Day. I realize it is done so that people who buy tickets for Opening Day don’t miss out in case of postponement, but it feels like with an afternoon game, many people are just as inconvenienced if the game is moved to the following day.

Same old strikeout-prone Phillies!

The Phillies spent the early innings of Thursday’s game striking out. As in, just about every batter struck out against MacKenzie Gore. Naturally, we can only conclude that the Phillies will spend the entire season striking out at a prodigious rate.

This is no place for caution, so I won’t mention that the shadows on the field were a factor, and the Nationals’ hitters seemed to be having just as much difficulty picking up the ball as the Phillies. And I won’t mention that Gore is a promising young pitcher who was hammering the strike zone.

I’ll also avoid talking about how the Phillies were actually not especially strikeout prone in 2024 (they ranked 16th in baseball), and there has been emphasis on having more patient at bats this season. But patient at bats can be a double-edged sword, as the more strikes you’re willing to take, the higher your chances of striking out.

The strikeout total was high, but the Phillies did work some long at bats, getting Gore’s pitch count high enough that he had to leave the game after six innings.

The bullpen is awful!

The Phillies’ offense eventually came to life and established a two-run lead. And much like in the 2024 NLDS, their bullpen didn’t handle that lead very well. Let’s not talk about how four of the five pitchers the Phillies used on Thursday were excellent. Let’s focus on the guy who wasn’t: Jordan Romano.

Let’s be clear: Romano was bad. His first five pitches were balls, and the sixth hit a batter. Even more worrisome than his lack of control was his velocity, as his fastball wasn’t getting past 93 at first. (It did trend upward as the inning went on.)

As we learned in 2024, an awful first game from a reliever portends an awful season. (Just look up Matt Strahm’s performance on Opening Day) And never mind that Romano looked great in Spring Training. The Phillies clearly made a mistake by not keeping Jeff Hoffman who would never pitch poorly in an important spot.

To sum: Game one has proven that the Phillies are a team with a lineup that can’t stop striking out and a bullpen which can’t hold leads. They’re also on pace to go 162-0. Bring on game two!