Alec Bohm, J.T. Realmuto lift Philadelphia Phillies to victory over Nationals on Opening Day
Alec Bohm hit a tiebreaking two-run double in the 10th inning Thursday, and J.T. Realmuto added a two-run triple, lifting the Philadelphia Phillies to a 7-3 victory over the Washington Nationals for a successful start to their NL East title defense.
Zack Wheeler went six innings for the Phillies, giving up two hits and one run — on Keibert Ruiz's homer in the fifth that put the Nationals ahead 1-0. Washington's MacKenzie Gore recorded a career-high 13 strikeouts and allowed one hit in six shutout innings.
In the seventh, Phillies sluggers Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber — both ex-Nationals — hit first-pitch homers off relievers to put Philadelphia up 2-1. The lead grew to 3-1 in the eighth before Washington tied it in the bottom half off Jordan Romano.
Jose Alvarado (1-0) pitched the ninth for the win. Matt Strahm threw the 10th.
Colin Poche (0-1) gave up Bohm's go-ahead double in the 10th. Eduardo Salazar allowed Realmuto's insurance hit.
Harper heard boos at his former home ballpark — he was NL Rookie of the Year in 2012 and NL MVP in 2015 with Washington — during pregame introductions and whenever he stepped to the plate. After striking out in the first and fourth, he tied the game in the seventh by driving a 96 mph four-seam fastball from Lucas Sims 415 feet to straightaway center. Two batters later, Schwarber — dropped to fourth in the lineup, with Trea Turner moving up to the leadoff spot — connected off Jose A. Ferrer.
Gore's 13 Ks were the most on opening day for a Nationals pitcher, one more than Max Scherzer had in 2019.
On Saturday, RHP Jake Irvin (10-14, 4.41 ERA in 2024) starts for Washington, while LHP Jesús Luzardo (3-6, 5.00 with Miami) makes his Phillies debut.
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