Phillies bats explode late in win against the Rockies; Max Kepler blasts first home run with the team

It now looks like a lock the rains are going to hold off until 7 p.m. or later, said Bobby Martrich, said Bobby Martrich, the meteorologist who runs EPAWA Consulting, one of the weather services that advises the Phillies.

Martrich said in a zoom call with team officials Sunday he opined that the storms would not rain on the Phillies’ home opener.

Based on radar, nothing appears to be threatening the Phillies, the Colorado Rockies, or the fans backed into Citizens Bank Park for what turned out to be an unlikely pitchers’ duel through six innings.

Cristopher Sánchez been sharp against the Rockies, but the Phillies' lefty has had to pitch his way out of a few jams.

In the fifth inning, Jordan Beck hit a screamer to first that Bryce Harper was able to knock down, but wasn’t able to get the throw over to Sánchez in time.

It appeared Sánchez may have hurt himself covering the base, as Rob Thomson and the Phillies trainers came out to the mound to check on him. The lefty threw a few test pitches and ultimately remained in the game. He then gave up a soft-contact single to Brenton Doyle to put two men aboard, but induced a flyout to escape the inning.

A rain delay isn’t out of the question, but it now appears that the Phillies will beat the storms, if not the Colorado Rockies.

The storms are coming, but “it is going to be later,” said Patrick O’Hara, meteorologist at the National Weather Service Office in Mount Holly.

He said a brief shower isn’t out of the question, but any severe, prolonged storms are likely to hold off until 6 or 7 p.m., or perhaps a little later.

The weather cleared and the sun came out just in time for the Philadelphia Phillies 2025 home opener, and fans fresh from a Super Bowl parade down Broad Street were back to tailgating.

Just in case anyone forgot the Eagles won the Super Bowl, Xfinity Live! blasted "We Are The Champions" (Freddie Mercury’s version, not Jordan Mailata’s), which fans followed with an E-A-G-L-E-S chant.

Catherine Smith, 56 from West Chester, who came to the home opener with her two sisters and niece, said there is an energy throughout the Philly region since the Eagles win.

The Phillies returned home to Citizens Bank Park on Monday to a revamped ballpark.

Some of the new features include an LED screen behind the backstop, a new LED ring around the suite level, an Xfinity logo above the batter’s eye in center field, and a glass fridge in the Phillies dugout. One of the biggest changes, however, is a new enclosed space in the bullpens.

The Phillies relievers had a chance to briefly check out their new digs during their stop in Philadelphia before they headed to Washington for opening weekend. But the bullpens were still under construction at the time, so Monday marks the first time experiencing the full extent of the changes.

Forecasters remain all but certain that severe storms — including thunderstorms, heavy downpours, and winds that could reach 60 mph — are heading this way, but say they may hold off until 6 or 7 p.m.

At 1 p.m., the front triggering the storm was “still way back” in western Pennsylvania, said Tom Kines, senior meteorologist with AccuWeather Inc.

However, nailing thunderstorm timing is an elusive exercise, he said, and “the big question is do the storms get there at 4 p.m. or do they wait until 7 p.m.”

Bryson Stott picked up a run-of-the-mill bat from his locker and pointed to where the diameter was the thickest.

“Say a typical barrel is right here,” the Phillies second baseman said Monday. “You can move it [down] to here, so now, this is dead where the end of the barrel should be.”

It’s called a “torpedo” bat, and after several Yankees players used it over the weekend in a 15-homer barrage over three games to open the season, it has become all the rage in Major League Baseball. Bat suppliers, including King of Prussia-based Victus, are receiving calls from curious hitters and hitting coaches across the sport.

Cristopher Sánchez was new to the Phillies in February 2020, when he got assigned No. 61. It wasn’t his choice. In baseball, the offensive lineman digits usually go to minor leaguers with little chance of making the team.

But when Sánchez started Game 2 of the division series last October, guess what number he was wearing. He'll be wearing it again when he takes the mound for the Phillies home opener on Monday.

“I debuted with that number,” he said through a team interpreter earlier this season, “and I want it to remain my number the rest of my career.”

There’s no telling.

A left-right-left-right lineup spurred the Phillies to 95 wins last year but fizzled in the postseason. It had slugger Kyle Schwarber leading off, Trea Turner hitting second, Bryce Harper hitting third, and Alec Bohm batting cleanup. However, during spring training, Phillies manager Rob Thomson convinced himself that, against left-handed starters, he should have Turner lead off, then Harper, then Bohm, then Schwarber.

In the season opener, against Nationals lefty MacKenzie Gore, the Trea lineup struck out 13 times and scored no runs in six innings. They touched the bullpen for two runs in the seventh, one in the eighth, and four in the 10th. Turner was hitless. Schwarber homered.

It’s nothing personal, Phillies, this can happen most anywhere in the East or Midwest when a baseball game is scheduled for March 31.

In what would be the third consecutive year, the weather forecast may force the Phillies to push back their home opener against the Colorado Rockies, with rounds of strong storms likely by late afternoon.

Thunderstorms -- possibly spawning an isolated tornado -- are highly likely said Joe DeSilva, meteorologist with the National Weather Service Office in Mount Holly. NOAA’s Storm Prediction Center sees a 40% chance that storms could reach “severe” criteria -- that is, winds approaching 60 mph.

It has been almost six months — 176 days, to be exact (not that anyone’s counting) — since the Phillies played at home. But to Nick Castellanos, well, take it away, Nick.

“It feels like yesterday,” he said. “Really.”

Trailing one game to none in a best-of-five divisional round series that they eventually lost to the rival Mets, the Phillies rallied from 2-0 and 4-3 deficits only to fumble a 6-5 lead in the top of the ninth. One strike from extra innings, Castellanos came to the plate with the winning run on second base.

The Phillies head back to Citizens Bank Park Monday to face the Colorado Rockies in their 2025 home opener. That is, if Mother Nature complies. 

Severe thunderstorms and heavy rain are expected to roll into Philadelphia late Monday afternoon around 4 p.m., according to the National Weather Service. The storm is expected to bring with it damaging wind gusts up to 60 mph, along with the possibility of flash flooding, hail, and even a tornado. 

With first pitch scheduled for 3:05 p.m., it's likey the Phillies' home opener will start on time but end up in a delay. If you're heading to South Philly, bring your ponchos and your patience.