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Philadelphia Phillies Opening Day 2017: Five Observations From Philly’s Win

By John Town

Apr 3, 2017; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Philadelphia Phillies third baseman Maikel Franco (7) slides in safe under the tag of Cincinnati Reds catcher Tucker Barnhart (16) during the first inning at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: Frank Victores-USA TODAY Sports
Apr 3, 2017; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Philadelphia Phillies third baseman Maikel Franco (7) slides in safe under the tag of Cincinnati Reds catcher Tucker Barnhart (16) during the first inning at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: Frank Victores-USA TODAY Sports /
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Apr 3, 2017; Cincinnati, OH, USA; Philadelphia Phillies second baseman Cesar Hernandez (16) is congratulated by third base coach Juan Samuel (8) after hitting a home run during the first inning against the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park. Mandatory Credit: Frank Victores-USA TODAY Sports /

Home Runs Come from Anywhere in this Lineup

Cesar Hernandez opened up the season with a bang with a leadoff home run in the first at-bat of the game. It was the first time the Phillies opened up a game with a home run in nearly 80 years when Heinie Mueller did it against the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1938.

This home run was unexpected since Hernandez has just eight career home runs since debuting in the majors in 2013. This is in 382 career games, so it’s safe to say Hernandez is not a power hitter. If you placed a bet on who would hit Philadelphia’s first home run this season, you probably wouldn’t pick Hernandez.

After Hernandez’s home run in the first, Freddy Galvis followed him up in the second inning with a solo home run of his own. Galvis is coming off of a 20-home run season, so it wasn’t that much of a surprise to see him go long, but when you look at Galvis, he also doesn’t fit the bill of a power hitter.

Manager Pete Mackanin even recognized that the power didn’t come from the normal spots in the lineup: [quote via Matt Gelb of Philly.com]

"“I tell you what, we don’t need power from the corners. We’ve got our power from the middle infielders. Cesar and Freddy, the two littlest guys on the field. It was good to see.”"

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