Alec Bohm plays hero in Phillies’ Opening Day win over Nationals despite striking out 19 times

Opening Day is a glorious day for baseball and its fans. Everyone’s favorite players and teams are back, and there is a sense that spring and summer are fast approaching.

However, Thursday afternoon’s contest between the Phillies and Nationals did not get off to such a glamorous start.

But in the end, thanks to a heroic double from a guy a lot of people did not even think or hope would don a Phillies uniform this season, the Phils pulled out a 7-3 win in 10 innings in our nation’s capital.

One of the biggest stories coming out of camp was the Phillies’ plate discipline. It has haunted them in the postseason the past three seasons, and it was an issue that needed to be rectified. And it seemed like it had been, especially with the Phillies leading the Grapefruit League in walks this spring and how much the team was patronizing it.

However, from innings one through six at Nationals Park, there seemed to be a credibility gap. The Phillies struck out 19 times on Thursday. They have only struck out 19 times in a game seven times in their 142-year history, and are now 1-6 in those games.

MacKenzie Gore got the start for Washington, and he was just flat out gross. In his six innings of no-run ball, he allowed just one hit, a 112.5 mph liner up the middle from Kyle Schwarber in the second inning, walked none, and struck out 13 Phillies batters, a career high and a new Opening Day record for the Nationals, with 93 pitches and 20 swing and misses. He faced the minimum 18 batters, falling behind just three hitters all game.

Luckily for the Phillies, their starter dazzled, as well.

Zack Wheeler‘s first inning was an early indicator of how his afternoon would go, recording a one-two-three frame, with his fastball topping out at 97.4 mph and a strikeout with his splitter. He went on to K two more in the second. His first five strikeouts all came on different pitches: four-seam fastball, splitter, cutter/slider, curveball, and sweeper.

Wheeler was nearly as stellar as Gore. In six innings, the 2024 Cy Young runner-up allowed two hits and two walks with eight strikeouts on 97 pitches. The only thing that separated his and Gore’s performance was the home run he allowed to Luis Garcia Jr. in the bottom of the fifth on the 12th pitch of the at-bat.

As soon as that bottom half of the fifth began, there was a scenic change at Nationals Park, which was sold out Thursday afternoon. The mount and plate were completely covered by the shadow.

Shadows were a big reason why the first 4.5 innings were so sluggish. But when they went away and Gore was pulled from the game, the Phillies’ bats came alive.

In the top of the seventh inning, down a run and facing Lucas Sims, Bryce Harper got a first-pitch fastball in the bottom corner of the zone. As soon as Tom McCarthy announced the “Stump the Fans’ answer, which was Harper had five Opening Day home runs in his career, that answer was no longer valid.

Harper smoked it, 415 feet to dead center field for the first home run of the Phillies’ 2025 campaign.

Bryce, Bryce, Baby #Phillies pic.twitter.com/TUAm3y8OKu

— Philly Sports Reports (@PhlySprtsReprts) March 27, 2025

A couple batters later, Kyle Schwarber went after the first pitch thrown from left-hander Jose A. Ferrer to give the 2-1 lead.

Schwarber had the best year of his career against lefties in 2024, so it was not the brightest move by Dave Martinez to bring the lefty in as Schwarber was coming up to the plate.

SCHWARBOMBS AWAY#Phillies pic.twitter.com/YiEOq4NAzd

— Philly Sports Reports (@PhlySprtsReprts) March 27, 2025

Jordan Romano made his Phillies debut in the eighth inning and went poorly. The first two batters, Dylan Crews and Jacob Young, reached on a walk and a hit-by-pitch, and then stole second and third on a double steal, setting up a two-run inning to tie the game.

Romano bounced back initially after the flawed open, registering two outs on an RBI groundout and a strikeout. However, with two outs and a 2-2 count, Garcia Jr. came through once again with a base hit, tying it up at three.

It was Romano’s first regular-season appearance since May 29 of last year, and his fastball sat in the mid-90s after being upper-90s in the spring, and his slider was uninspiring on his 29 pitches.

But the Phillies brought out the big guns out of the bullpen. Prior to Romano’s inning, Orion Kerkering impressed in the seventh, stranding runners in scoring positions, escaping the jam with a strikeout and forcing a weak grounder. In the ninth, the Nationals had no shot at Jose Alvarado, who threw 14 pitches, struck out two, exceeded 100 mph four times, reached 101.3 mph, and recorded a one-two-three ninth inning to force free baseball.

In the 10th, the bats came through. After Brandon Marsh was unable to get a bunt down and struck out for the fourth time, all of which against lefties, and Trea Turner lined out, Harper walked to bring up Alec Bohm with runners on first and second.

Bohm injured his hand late last season, which mightily affected his swing. It led to him being benched in Game 2 of the NLDS and had his name swirling in trade rumors all offseason. With one swing of the bat on Opening Day, he made us all forget about it.

Bohm delivered the game-winning knock, a two-run double to left-center to give the Phillies a 5-3 lead.

Alec Bohm for the lead… YEEEESSSS#Phillies pic.twitter.com/5E0Z3HS7uc

— Philly Sports Reports (@PhlySprtsReprts) March 27, 2025

Moments like this are why baseball is such a beautiful game. With just one swing of the bat, a person’s reputation can be altered. It is such a hard thing to do, but when done, stories are rewritten, thoughts are thought about again, and hopes are restored.

The Philes proceeded to break it open with a two-run triple by J.T. Realmuto, who struck out his first four times up. Matt Strahm, in a non-save situation, shut down the Nats with the ghost runner on in the bottom of the 10th, and the Phillies are on pace for a 162-0 season.

The Phils and Nats are off on Friday, but return to action at 4:05 p.m. on Saturday. Jesus Luzardo will make his Phillies debut on the mound, while right-hander Jake Irvin gets the ball for Washington.

With a righty on the mound, expect a different lineup than what we got on Thursday, as Schwarber is expected to lead off against right-handers, while Turner bats one with southpaws on the mound.

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