2018 Phillies home opener schedule & game notes

Image- Jay Floyd

The Phillies kick off their 2018 home schedule on Thursday April 5th at Citizens Bank Park. Here is a listed schedule of events for the day along with some key statistical notes for the contest.

12:00 PM- Block Party begins. Presented by Budweiser on Citizens Bank Way, the party features a live band, a Ferris Wheel, Gametrain a Budweiser Macro Bar and samplings from Turkey Hill Dairy, Diet Coke and others.

12:35 PM- All gates open. Fans will receive a commemorative knit hat.

12:40 PM- Phillies batting practice.

1:10 PM- Marlin batting practice.

2:26 PM- Phillies lead off walk onto the field, entering the park from the outfield.

2:35 PM- "America the Beautiful" performed by the Philadelphia Boys Choire and Men;s Chorale.

2:39 PM- Marlins team introduction.

2:44 PM- Phillies team introduction.

2:49 PM- Tribute video & moment of silence for Roy Halladay.

2:51 PM- National Anthem performed by Kane Kalas at his father's statue behind section 141.

2:53 PM- U.S. Navy parachute team, the Leap Frogs, delivering first balls.

3:00 PM- Ceremonial first pitch by Eagles head coach Doug Pederson.

3:05 PM- PLAY BALL!

Right-hander Nick Pivetta will get the start for the Phillies. In 12 career home starts, the 25-year-old sports a 4-3 record with a 5.34 ERA and a .263 batting average against. Pivetta has posted an 8.66 ERA in four career starts against the Marlins.

Left Caleb Smith is slated to start for the Marlins. He struck out eight batters in 5 1/3 innings in his season debut against the Cubs last week.

Cesar Hernandez, the Phils' 27-year-old second baseman, batted .320 at home last year and is a .280 career hitter at Citizens Bank Park.

Phillies third baseman Maikel Franco, 25, is a .246 hitter in 46 career games against Miami. Franco batted .214 in 77 home games last season.

In career 10 games against the Marlins, Phillies left fielder Rhys Hoskins has a .441 average with eight homers and 19 RBI.

Comments

PhoulBallz Interview: Reading second baseman Jesmuel Valentin

Jesmuel Valentin, image- Jay Floyd Switch-hitting infielder Jesmuel Valentin has been a bit of an underrated contributor with the Double-A Reading Fightins. Heading into action on Friday, Valentin was batting .339 over his last 14 games. Overall this season, the 22-year-old is batting .282 with four home runs and 35 RBI in 64 games. Valentin, who plays mostly second base, but dabbles at shortstop a bit also, is the son of former big leaguer Jose Valentin . The Puerto Rico native was a supplementary round pick (51st overall) of the Dodgers in 2012. He was acquired by the Phils as part of the Roberto Hernandez trade in 2014. Recently, I spoke with Jesmuel about his team's success, growing up around the game and more. Read ahead for that full interview. -The Reading team has been great and you've contributed very nicely to the club's success. What are your thoughts on competition in the Eastern League this year? I just came here with the mindset that...

Q&A with Justin De Fratus

Justin De Fratus is a 21 year old right handed relief pitcher with the Lakewood BlueClaws. An 11th round draft choice in 2007, Justin had been a starter in his first two seasons in the Phillies organization. Informed this spring that he'd be switched from the rotation to the bullpen, Justin has excelled and become one of the most reliable pitchers on the Lakewood staff. In 19 games this season, Justin is 2-0, with a 1.83 ERA and 0.89 WHIP over 39 1/3 innings pitched. PhoulBallz.com spoke with Justin De Fratus just last night. Here's how that went down... Justin, South Atlantic League all star selections were announced this week, and you were named to the team. Can I get your reaction to that? How excited were you? Very excited about it. Well, especially this year because I just got moved to the bullpen, so this is a new role for me. So, if anything, it's reassuring that I'm doing my job. It's the first time in my pro career that I've been selected as an all star...

Catching prospect O'Hoppe tabbed to join Phillies

Logan O'Hoppe, image- Jay Floyd Please consider supporting my work and via my Patreon page . For a small monthly fee, your patronage will get you exclusive interviews and other prospect related material as well as early access to all of my other content such as this feature. Thank you. On Friday, the Phillies added a pair of catchers to their 2020 player pool. Minor leaguers Logan O'Hoppe (pronounced Oh-HOP-ee) and Henri Lartigue arrived in Philadelphia to help catch bullpen sessions for the team's collection of approximately 30 pitchers. The call to O'Hoppe was extremely welcome as the 20-year-old had been staying as active as he possibly could, working out with other players that have been been waiting out quarantine due to the current pandemic at his home on Long Island. However, he had been very eager to step back onto an actual baseball field. "I just hope I can play soon. Where ever that is or whatever form that is, that'd be aw...

PhoulBallz.com

Search This Blog