The Phillies took advantage of extra-inning rules to win a frigid season opener | Extra Innings

The wicked winds blowing through Citizens Bank Park on Thursday afternoon made the game-time temperature of 49 degrees feel more like it was in the 30s, and when the sun went down, it just got colder. And still, the opening-day crowd that was limited to 8,529 by COVID-19 restrictions went home feeling warm and fuzzy after Jean Segura’s 10th-inning single lifted the Phillies to a 3-2, season-opening win over the Atlanta Braves.

It was the first time the Phillies played in front of their home fans since Sept. 29, 2019, when they closed the season with a loss to the Miami Marlins. Manager Gabe Kapler was fired 11 days later.

“I think we’re going to have a ton of games like this in our division,” Joe Girardi said after his first regular-season game as the Phillies manager in front of fans. “We got to get used to them.”

Segura was the hero, but the Phillies did a lot of other things well in the opener, starting with a terrific pitching performance from Aaron Nola. The Phillies ace made just one mistake — an 0-2 fastball that pinch hitter Pablo Sandoval blasted into the right-field seats for a game-tying home run in the top of the seventh inning — in his fourth straight opening-day assignment.

“He was great,” Girardi said. “This is an extremely dangerous lineup. We saw what this lineup did consistently last year. This was a team that was one game away from the World Series ... and to be able to hold that lineup down like that, it takes some really good pitching.”

After Nola departed, the bullpen quartet of Archie Bradley, Jose Alvarado, Hector Neris and Connor Brogdon delivered 3 1/3 scoreless innings to set the stage for Segura’s fourth career walk-off hit.

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— Bob Brookover (extrainnings@inquirer.com)

» READ MORE: Jean Segura makes sure the Phillies’ opening-day performance is a crowd pleaser | Bob Brookover

We know baseball is filled with legendary stories about loooooong extra-inning games. One of my favorites was a 20-inning affair between the Phillies and Los Angeles Dodgers at Veterans Stadium during the magical 1993 season. Five games after Mitch Williams ended the second game of a doubleheader against San Diego with a 10th-inning RBI single at 4:40 a.m., the Phillies closer started another marathon evening by blowing a two-run, ninth-inning lead. He faced four batters and allowed three walks and a hit, but Larry Andersen came on in relief and bailed out the “Wild Thing.”

It was a bad night to be playing 6 hours and 10 minutes because the game-time temperature at 7:37 p.m. was 94 degrees. It did not seem any cooler at 1:47 a.m. when Lenny Dykstra ended the game with a two-run, ground-rule double. Mike Williams earned the win after allowing one run on six hits in six innings of relief. Darren Daulton caught all 20 innings and looked like he had lost 20 pounds.

We use that long setup to tell you that we love the new extra-inning rule that was put in place last season as part of the COVID-19 protocol. Like 3-on-3 hockey overtimes, the rule that places a runner at second base to start each extra inning creates immediate excitement and anxiety.

Thursday’s game was a perfect example.

Rookie Connor Brogdon took the baseball in the top of the 10th inning in an immediate and monumental jam. Ozzie Albies, who had popped out to end Atlanta’s ninth inning, was placed in scoring position with nobody out and Freddie Freeman and Marcell Ozuna scheduled to come to the plate. All Freeman did a year ago was win the National League MVP award. All Ozuna did was lead the league with 18 home runs.

The baseball that followed was sensational. Rather than trying to hit the ball out of the park, Freeman did the professional thing and moved Albies to third with a grounder to the right side of the infield. Ozuna followed with a fly ball to shallow center field that Roman Quinn ran in to catch before making a strong throw to catcher J.T. Realmuto, who shifted his body in front of home plate and tagged out Albies to complete a run-denying double play.

When the scene shifted to the bottom of the 10th, Bryce Harper, who had struck out to end the ninth, was placed at second base. Like Freeman, Realmuto grounded out to the right side, which advanced Harper to third base. After Alec Bohm grounded out to third, the Braves intentionally walked Didi Gregorius and Segura couldn’t wait to make them pay for it. The second baseman went after the first pitch he saw from reliever Nate Jones and produced a game-winning single to left field.

“Unbelievable win,” pitcher Aaron Nola said. “What a way to start the season.”

That it took only 10 innings was good on many levels. Neither team had to exhaust its bullpen on opening day, and nobody really wants to spend five or six hours on the field or in the stands when the wind chill is headed for the 20s.

In addition, the baserunner rule also creates game strategy that is too often missing from modern-day baseball. Freeman and Realmuto, two hitters with the potential to hit home runs, were not asked to lay down leadoff sacrifice bunts, but batters such as Roman Quinn and Adam Haseley probably would have been.

Atlanta manager Brian Snitker was also forced to make a decision about pitching to Gregorius, and he opted to walk the Phillies shortstop to set up a force play at second base while also creating a righty-vs.-righty matchup between Jones and Segura.

“It’s a tough decision on the manager, and I’m glad I didn’t have to make it,” Girardi said.

He just got to enjoy it.

» READ MORE: An emotional reopening day for the Phillies, their fans, and their workers | David Murphy

Fans back in the ballpark might have been the most beautiful sight at Citizens Bank Park, but the scoreless relief work by the bullpen quartet of Archie Bradley, Jose Alvarado, Hector Neris and Connor Brogdon ranked a close second.

The Phillies did a lot of things well in the season opener against the Braves, but nothing short of a victory was going to send the returning fans happy. A determined Jean Segura delivered for them in the bottom of the 10th.

Who said defense was not a strength for the Phillies? It was only one game, Scott Lauber notes, but the Phils flashed some leather on opening day.

Odubel Herrera alert: Adam Haseley got the opening-day start in center field, but he had to leave the game after seven innings because of a tight hamstring.

Columnist David Murphy talked to Phillies game-day employee Harold Palmer about the joy of being back at Citizens Bank Park after a season without fans.

Stephanie Farr caught up with some of the returning fans at Thursday’s opener, including Brett MacMinn, cofounder of the Phandemic Krew that cheered on the Phillies from just outside the center-field gate last season.

In case you missed our 2021 Phillies season preview ahead of Thursday’s season opener, you can find it here.

Today: Off day.

Tomorrow: Zack Wheeler faces Atlanta’s Charlie Morton, 4:05 p.m.

Sunday: Zach Eflin goes against Ian Anderson in series finale with Braves, 1:05 p.m.

Monday: Matt Moore makes his Phillies debut against the New York Mets, 7:05 p.m.

Tuesday: Chase Anderson makes his Phillies debut against the Mets, 7:05 p.m.

» READ MORE: Phillies’ Adam Haseley gets opening-day nod in center field, exits with hamstring tightness

In addition to pitching a terrific game in Thursday’s season opener against the Atlanta Braves, pitcher Aaron Nola also laid down a couple of outstanding bunts that created scoring chances for the Phillies. He did not get credit for a sacrifice in the fourth inning, but his bunt led to a throwing error by Freddie Freeman that allowed Jean Segura to get to second base. He did get credit for a sacrifice bunt that advanced Adam Haseley to second base in the sixth inning.

Nola, a career .076 hitter, did lead the Phillies in sacrifice bunts in 2018 and 2019, and with the designated hitter expected to return for good in 2022, this could be his last chance to lead his team in that category again. By the way, there is still something aesthetically pleasing about seeing a pitcher successfully bunt.

Send questions by email or on Twitter @brookob.

Question: WHY DO THE PHILLIES ALWAYS HAVE A DAY OFF AFTER OPENING DAY?

I’m sorry for YELLING, but win or lose, I hate this!

If they lose on Opening Day (which definitely seems to happen more often than winning, at least lately), there are 48 hours to commiserate about the loss and it just seems like an extra negative start to the season.

If they win on Opening Day (which, while not having the stats in front of me, I don’t think happens as often as when they lose), then we don’t get to capitalize on that momentum .

— Mark M. via email

Answer: Thanks for reading Extra Innings, Mark, and don’t worry about the yelling. There is, however, a very simple answer to your question. It’s all about the weather. Because it can often be cold, rainy and sometimes even snowing in late March and early April, teams in cold-weather cities build in a natural rain date at the start of their seasons.

If you look at this year’s schedule, the Yankees, Tigers, Cubs, Phillies, Reds and Royals are all off Friday after opening the season Thursday in their cold-weather cities. The Red Sox, meanwhile, have to use their built-in off day because their scheduled season opener against Baltimore at Fenway Park was postponed because of rain.

For the record, the Phillies improved to 68-71-2 on opening day with Thursday’s victory. They are 3-2 in their last five openers and 10-12 since 2000. They have not won back-to-back openers since 2012, when they won on opening day for the third straight year by beating Pittsburgh, 1-0, behind the pitching of Roy Halladay.