PHILADELPHIA — Edmundo Sosa and Kyle Schwarber to the rescue.
Sosa’s two-out, two-run double and Schwarber’s subsequent two-run homer put the Phillies on the scoreboard in the seventh inning and paved the way to a 6-1 win over Colorado in the home opener at sold-out Citizens Bank Park Monday.
The noisy crowd then had more to celebrate. Offseason addition Max Kepler’s third hit of the game, a solo homer to right field, and Nick Castellano’s subsequent swat to center field padded the Phillies’ lead in the eighth and ensured happy trips home.
The Phillies had 11 hits.
Jose Alvarado struck out three in the eighth inning with a walk and first-year Phillie Jordan Romano allowed a single but closed it in the ninth.
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Substitute shortstop Sosa’s second double of the game scored Bryson Stott, who’d doubled himself, and Trea Turner, who’d walked, in the seventh inning. Turner was pinch-hitting for Brandon Marsh in his first appearance since Thursday’s opener in Washington due to back spasms.
Sosa had greeted reliever Victor Vodnik, and Schwarber then doubled his pain with a no-doubt rocket to center field.
Goodman homer gives Rockies lead
Hunter Goodman’s one-out sixth-inning homer inched Colorado ahead 1-0 and chased Phillies starter Cristopher Sanchez, who, nonetheless, had a strong first start of the season before an appreciative crowd of 44,595.
Sanchez allowed four hits, walked two and struck out seven before Orion Kerkering came in from the bullpen after Goodman’s center-field blast.
Scoreless through 5
Sanchez pitched out of second-inning trouble by getting an inning-ending strikeout with runners on second and third.
Sanchez then injured himself running off the mound on Jordan Beck’s two-out infield single in the fifth and took a practice pitch under watchful eyes without trouble. Brenton Doyle then singled but Ezequiel Tovar’s flyout ended the threat,
New Phillie Max Kepler had his team’s first hit off Colorado starter German Marquez, a second-inning double, before Alec Bohm led off the fourth with a single. Neither advanced any farther though.
The Phillies threatened again in the fifth, which opened with Nick Castellanos’ infield single. He moved to third on Sosa’s two-out double, but Schwarber struck out flailing, which he would rectify later.
Sanchez brings unique improvement to the mound
Having been a baseball coach and manager since 1988, Rob Thomson has seen a lot.
But the Phillies’ skipper singled out starting pitcher Sanchez for his unique transformation before Monday’s home opener against the Colorado Rockies at Citizens Bark Park.
The lefty’s development from a hard-throwing pitcher who lacked command to a 2024 National League All-Star possessing both is unprecedented, Thomson suggested before the game.
“I’ve talked about it many times, how far this kid’s come in the last four or five years,” Thomson said.
“When I first saw him, when we first got him from Tampa Bay, he always had a big arm. But he couldn’t command the ball, couldn’t even control the ball. The evolution started to happen where the velocity came down but the command went up. Now the velocity is going back up. It’s pretty interesting. I don’t think I’ve seen that type of evolution before.”
The 28-year-old Dominican was signed by Tampa Bay as a teen-ager in 2013 and dealt to the Phillies in 2019. He was 11-9 with a 3.32 ERA in 31 starts last year. Sanchez was 10th in the Cy Young Award voting and signed a potentially team-friendly four-year $22.5 million extension.
Sanchez had a 1.62 ERA in 16 2/3 spring innings, fueling excitement about what he could do in 2025.
“He’s now at a point where he’s the combination of power and command, much like [Zack] Wheeler is,” Thomson said. “When you have that, you’re in pretty good shape. Plus, he’s got the swing-and-miss pitch with his changeup. The slider’s really coming along. The poise, maturity, he’s really grown.”
Turner still out
Trea Turner is not in the starting lineup for the Phillies’ 2025 home opener today.
Turner is still nursing back spasms that kept him out of games Saturday and Sunday in Washington. Edmundo Sosa is playing shortstop and batting ninth for the Phillies.
Turner could be possibly used off the bench, however, Thomson said.
Catcher J.T. Realmuto is back in the lineup after missing Sunday’s game with a bruised foot.
The Phillies and Colorado Rockies play at 3:05 p.m. at Citizens Bank Park (NBC 10/NBC Sports Philly Plus).
Check here throughout the day for our live updates and analysis:
Phillies lineup vs Rockies
Cristopher Sanchez is the Phillies’ starting pitcher. Here is the Phillies’ batting order to face Rockies starter German Marquez:
Kyle Schwarber DH
Alec Bohm 3B
Bryce Harper 1B
J.T. Realmuto C
Max Kepler LF
Nick Castellanos RF
Bryson Stott 2B
Brandon Marsh CF
Edmundo Sosa SS
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Contact Kevin Tresolini at [email protected] and follow on Twitter @kevintresolini. Support local journalism by subscribing to delawareonline.com and our DE Game Day newsletter.
