3 Massive Overreactions After Phillies Opening Day Victory

Here are three overreactions to what took place and what was seen on the field for the Philadelphia Phillies during their Opening Day win.

Mar 8, 2025; Clearwater, Florida, USA; Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Trea Turner (7) reaches third base against the Toronto Blue Jays in the sixth inning during spring training at BayCare Ballpark | Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images

The Philadelphia Phillies started their season 1-0 after winning on Opening Day, but it wasn't pretty.

In fact, for them to win, they had to do something that no other team in Major League Baseball has ever done, overcoming 19 strikeouts in the first game of the year to walk away with a victory.

That's the story that has been following this version of the Phillies since they came up short in the 2022 World Series, and unless it gets addressed, it's something that could prevent them from ever lifting the trophy at the end of the season.

But, there were also some bright spots in Game 1 of the year.

Bryce Harper had a clutch home run to tie the score at one in the seventh inning. Kyle Schwarber followed that up with a blast of his own, going 2-for-4 with a walk in his new spot in the batting order. Orion Kerkering got out of a jam. Zack Wheeler was sensational once again. And Jose Alvardo looked like his past dominant self.

Over the course of a 162-game schedule, poor performances will exist, and the fact that Philadelphia was able to win by doing something no other team has ever done is a statement, as well.

So what can be drawn from Opening Day?

Here are three massive overreactions to what just took place.

Jose Alvarado Wins NL Reliever of the Year

This winter, there were some rumblings that the big left-hander might have a bounce back year. He lost weight, something he set out to do to better prepare himself for the long season, and his velocity was sky-high again.

Alvarado looked like one of the best relievers in baseball on Thursday.

Entering in the bottom of the ninth inning, after Jordan Romano gave up two runs to tie the game, there was a ton of pressure on Alvarado to keep things knotted up at four.

The left-hander came in and struck out the first two batters of the frame before inducing a ground ball out to push the contest into extra innings where the Phillies ultimately won.

Alvarado's sinker averaged 99.9 mph, topping out at 101.3.

If that's the version he's going to be all year, then he's going to be unhittable and win this award.

Major Outfield Issue

Rob Thomson turned the everyday center field job over to Brandon Marsh ahead of this season with the hopes that he could provide the requisite offense this unit needs alongside Nick Castellanos and newcomer Max Kepler.

The skipper left Marsh in against left-handers during the opener, the reality that comes from being a full-time guy instead of platooning or being in the lineup based on matchups.

It didn't go well.

Marsh was 0-for-4 with four strikeouts. He looked lost and uncomfortable at the plate, being fooled by MacKenzie Gore's fastball-slider combo with two swinging K's. His final two were him watching strikes go by him, first taking too long regarding the pitch timer that resulted in him getting rung up in the eighth inning and then trying to bunt in extras before the count got two strikes and he watched the third fly past him.

Not a great showing for someone who is expected to be the everyday center fielder on a World Series-winning team.

But it wasn't just Marsh's issues that were present.

Nick Castellanos was 1-for-4 with a walk and strikeout. Kepler ripped a double, but he also had two strikeouts and two walks.

It seems like this outfield unit is going to be feast or famine, something that could be an issue.

Another Frustrating Trea Turner Year

It's hard to objectively say Turner has been bad since coming to Philadelphia.

His OPS+ is 16 points above the league average. He's been an All-Star. He's hit 20-plus homers in the two seasons he's been with the team. His bWAR has been 3.0 or higher in both of his campaigns.

But Turner hasn't been the $300 million man this franchise thought they were getting.

That could change.

Again, he's not been a bad player since he signed his megadeal with the Phillies, so if he can take his game up another notch, the feelings about the shortstop are going to change.

However, what he did on Opening Day was more of the same.

Turner went 0-for-4 with a walk and a strikeout, popping out to the pitcher in the top of the 10th inning when a base hit would have given Philadelphia a lead. He also dropped a tag in the bottom of the eighth frame on a stolen base attempt that would have gotten them out of the inning.

It's little things like that where he has struggled, and it's hard to confidently predict that will change.

This piece is all about overreacting to what took place in the first contest of a 162-game schedule, so there is a chance Turner can put together a year where he's in the mix for an NL MVP Award like he was back in 2021.

But, after what he showed on Opening Day, there's also a good chance he'll leave people being frustrated with his play again.