Phillies Opening Day Is Friday As Historic MLB Season Begins
PHILADELPHIA, PA — A historic Major League baseball season, the shortest in 142 years, will begin this week with no fans in the stands at Citizens Bank Park or anywhere across the nation.
The Phillies will host the Miami Marlins at 7:05 p.m. Friday night as this silent season begins, on an Opening Day that is a far cry indeed from the raucous tens of thousands that swarmed South Philadelphia for Bryce Harper's Phillies debut last March.
Diverting from the normal 162-game slate, teams will play only 60 in this regular season heavily abbreviated by the coronavirus pandemic. And schedules are significantly altered in a way that handicaps the Phillies: they'll play all their games against the National League East and American League East, the teams which are most geographically convenient in order to limit travel. Those just so happen to be the two most competitive divisions in baseball, making the Phillies march to October all the more fraught.
The playoff format is yet to be determined. While it had appeared it would remain the same, with five teams advancing from each league, the latest rumors Wednesday indicate that the league is re-exploring the possibility of a significantly expanded 16-team playoff field. Regardless of the outcome, the final format must be approved before the first pitch is thrown Thursday evening.
Other drastic changes are in place, including bringing a designated hitter to National League and putting a runner on second for the start of extra innings in order to speed up play. It's raised questions and debates over the season's legitimacy, even as the increasing nationwide spread of the virus casts doubts on the tenability of the season itself.
For the season opener, the Phillies look to be at nearly full health. Ace Aaron Nola will take the mound for his third consecutive Opening Day start. He'll face the Marlins' lone All Star in 2019, Sandy Alcantara.
For the Phillies, their starting lineup looks to be nearly set. Jay Bruce will likely fill the designated hitter role on a mostly full-time basis. Scott Kingery will take over third base duties from the departed Maikel Franco, with Jean Segura shifting to second base to take over in Cesar Hernandez's absence, while new acquisition Didi Gregorious will man shortstop.
The only position player battle looks to be center field, where new manager Joe Girardi has not yet announced an official starter. Oft-injured speedster Roman Quinn, one of the fastest players in the game and a unique weapon, will get playing time. Top prospect Adam Haseley, the Phillies 9th overall pick in the 2017 draft, will surely get another look as well after an encouraging rookie campaign in 2019.
Another question mark is their other major offseason addition, ace starting pitcher Zack Wheeler.While Wheeler is healthy and ready to go, his wife is expecting a baby soon and he's expressed concern about continuing to play while potentially exposing his family to the virus.
It's also likely that the Phillies will recall pitcher Spencer Howard and third baseman Alec Bohm, two of the top prospects in all of baseball, following the fifth game of the season. They will wait at least that long to have the pair make their debut due to service-time considerations; the team will retain control over the pair for an extra season if they wait.
After the three opening games against the Marlins at homes, the Phillies travel to New York to face the Yankees for four games. They will play 20 of their 60 games against the AL East, including highly competitive teams in the Yankees and the Tampa Bay Rays. They'll also battle a Boston Red Sox team which, while a shell of their 2018 world champion form, remains formidable, as well as a revamped Toronto Blue Jays squad. See their full schedule here.
Some teams, such as the Chicago White Sox, have responded to the fan ban by filling their ballpark seats with cardboard cutouts of their fans' likenesses.
The season officially opens on Thursday night with two games. First, the New York Yankees will visit the defending World Series champions Washington Nationals. That will be followed by a contest between two West Coast archrivals, the San Francisco Giants and Los Angeles Dodgers.
This article originally appeared on the Norristown Patch
