New year, new bullpen?

That’s been the question for the Phillies throughout the winter and most of spring training, and at least for one day, the answer is a resounding hell yeah.

The Phillies’ bullpen took down 10 key late-inning outs without yielding a run while getting the help of some outstanding defense to outlast the Braves in a dramatic 3-2 Opening Day win.

Almost no component of the above sentence would have made its way into a Phillies game story last season.

After starting pitcher Aaron Nola departed in the seventh inning of a 2-2 tie, Archie Bradley, Jose Alvarado, Hector Neris and Connor Brogdon kept the Braves in check just long enough to give the Phillies’ offense a chance to finally break through.

At the end of a frustrating afternoon in which the lineup had been just 2-for-13 with runners in scoring position, Jean Segura stepped to the plate with runners on the corners and two away. Seconds later, the frustration turned to jubilation as the Phillies streamed out of the dugout and into shallow center field, swarming Segura, who plated Bryce Harper with the game-winning run.

Interestingly, Braves manager Brian Snitker elected to walk Didi Gregorius to set up a matchup between reliever Nate Jones and Segura. The move didn’t work.

Segura’s moment capped off a memorable Opening Day in front of fans who had not been in the seats of Citizens Bank Park since Sept. 29, 2019.

There’s plenty to talk about after this one, so let’s jump right into it.

You Forgot A Punctuation Mark

For nearly seven innings, Nola was masterful against a potent Atlanta lineup. And for nearly seven innings, it appeared he was well on his way to silencing the naysayers who claim he’s not an ace with an emphatic Opening Day statement.

But just as Nola was about to put an exclamation point on that statement, 56-year-old (he’s 34) Pablo Sandoval tanked a badly missed 0-2 90 mph fastball 407 feet. The game was tied and Nola departed.

Nola consistently pitched with efficiency, navigating the Braves lineup with just 31 pitches through three innings and 71 through six innings.

He pitched out of a jam sixth when the Phillies’ infield defense created a potential mess – get used to reading some variation of that line quite a bit this season – but was unable to do so in the seventh after the costly mistake to Sandoval.

On most days, Nola’s final line (6.2 IP, 2 ER, 6 H, 0 BB, 6 K) will get the job done, but it didn’t in this one, and those who question his standing as a legit ace now have a new talking point.

Phils Defense Gets It Done When It Matters Most

The sixth-inning Rhys Hoskins/Nola gaffe aside, the Phillies defense made some spectacular plays late to help keep the game tied.

Gregorius closed out the ninth inning by fighting the wind to make a sensational over-the-shoulder grab. Had he not made the play, it’s possible Ozzie Albies would have been standing on second base with Freddie Freeman at the plate — an inning before he was standing at second base with Freeman at the plate because of the MLB’s extra inning rules.

An inning later, with Albies standing on third and one away, Roman Quinn camped under a shallow fly ball off the bat of Marcell Ozuna and made a perfect throw to keep things tied:

Take a Walk on the Wild Side

Yo, how about this f’n Jose Alvarado guy, huh?

Tweeted this out earlier in the week:

Prophetic.

Alvarado made his Citizens Bank Park debut and it went: walk, strikeout, single, strikeout, hit by pitch, an almost bases-clearing double that went just foul, strikeout.

21 pitches, 12 strikes, 9 balls

Though to be fair, one of those balls was close, prompting one of the 8,592 fans in attendance to tell home plate umpire Bill Miller his wife doesn’t love him.

Anyway, expect to see some “The Alvarado Experience” t-shirts in the near future. Maybe a local carnival ride that goes by the same name, too.

Take Your Exit Velo and Shove It

I’m kidding.

Love when people say “exit velo” is stupid or that it’s a stat they don’t give any attention. It’s simply quantifying how hard a ball is struck, and guess what? Hitting the ball hard is good – except when it’s not.

Enjoy this laser that left J.T. Realmuto’s bat at 61.6 mph (with an expected batting average of .100) to give the Phillies an early 2-0 lead.

For what it’s worth, I thought Harper was:

  1. going to be out by 14 feet when Albies first picked up the baseball
  2. also safe

But what do I know?

The Grind

The Phils’ lineup only plated two runs over the first four innings against Max Fried, but it showed its ability to grind at-bats and drive up a pitch count.

Following a third-inning walk to Alec Bohm, Fried had already thrown 57 pitches while recording just eight outs.

In total, he needed 64 pitches to get through the third and he was at 80 pitches through four innings. To Fried’s credit, he hung around and finished five frames before departing with 94 pitches.

I know two runs over five innings is nothing to applaud, but if the lineup can shorten opponents’ outings with some regularity, it could be difference-maker in a division loaded with outstanding starting pitching.

(Almost) Blowing It In The Wind

Blowing it, get it? You know, because the Phillies left runners in scoring position in five of the first six innings and it was windy?

Listen, the wind was rough out there. Bryce Harper’s lineout to deep left came off his bat at 102.9 mph and was probably a few rows out on any other day.

Still, while the Phillies did a nice job consistently applying pressure, they didn’t do a nice job of finishing the deal.

They were just 2-for-8 with runners in scoring position through the first five innings, generously allowing Fried to hang around.

The Phils’ L.O.B. troubles continued in the sixth after they left another pair on when Tyler Metzek struck out Hoskins to end yet another threat and would return again in the eighth inning when Quinn and Brad Miller couldn’t score Segura from second.

They finally got it done in the tenth, so all is well that ends well, but it didn’t need to be so hard.

Harper Brings Out His Opening Day Best

They say you never know what you’re going to see when you come to the ballpark, but if it’s a special occasion, you know Bryce Harper is going hard in the fashion department:

The man knows how to market himself – and he knows how to endear himself to the fans.