Phillies: Opening week a test for Girardi, Wheeler, Gregorius

The Phillies’ opening week games against the Marlins and Yankees will present an interesting test for their three newcomers

The Philadelphia Phillies are scheduled to start the regular season at home, with three games against the Miami Marlins and two games against the New York Yankees, before hitting the road for two away games opposite their 2009 World Series rival in the Bronx.

The fact that the Phillies will square off against the Marlins and Yankees on opening week makes it an interesting test for their top-three offseason additions. For manager Joe Girardi, his return to the skipper role comes against the two teams he’s managed in the past.

Girardi’s first season in that role came in 2006 with the then-Florida Marlins, before spending 10 seasons managing the Yankees from 2008 and 2017.

His first regular-season week with the Phillies will allow him to win series against the Marlins and the Yankees, something that he’s never done — kind of.

In 2006, the Marlins played three games against the Yankees, with New York taking the series 2-1.

With the Yankees, Girardi had a pair of opportunities to face the Marlins. In 2009, the teams played three games, with Miami taking the series 2-1. In 2015, the teams played four consecutive games, each winning twice. Two of those games were in Miami, while the other two were in New York. If you consider them as separate series, then Girardi was able to win one, with the Yankees taking both games in New York.

Either way, it’s Girardi’s first chance to win three games against the Marlins or the Yankees in a single stretch.