The Philadelphia Phillies walked away with a 7-3 extra-inning victory over the Washington Nationals to end an Opening Day game that seemed to have a little bit of everything going on at times. The 10-inning affair produced 32 strikeouts, with Phillies batters going down by way of the K 19 times, including 13 strikeouts from Nationals' starter MacKenzie Gore. The Phillies' bats certainly took a while to get going in this one, but a clutch two-run double from Alec Bohm in the 10th was ultimately the difference-maker in a game that took a quick turn following a rough eighth inning from a key offseason bullpen addition.
Zack Wheeler was unsurprisingly dominant during his second consecutive Opening Day start as a member of the Phillies. The veteran right-hander looked sharp, striking out eight, while scattering two hits and allowing one earned run over 6.0 innings of work.
Wheeler's 97-pitch effort was somewhat overshadowed by the electric 13 strikeout performance tossed by Gore. The classic pitcher's duel was a major storyline of the game until the top of the seventh inning, when Bryce Harper and Kyle Schwarber finally got the Phillies on the board with a pair of solo shots to give the Phillies a fresh 2-1 lead.
Bryce. Harper. Delivers. 🔥 pic.twitter.com/GyjzOT3vAh
— MLB (@MLB) March 27, 2025
With Wheeler's day on the mound finished, it was Orion Kerkering's turn to hold the lead, and after allowing a pair of pesky singles, Kerkering shut the door on the Nationals with 12 pitches and one strikeout to finish the frame. But all wasn't calm for long, as Kerkering's clean inning set the stage for Phillies manager Rob Thomson to debut one of the key offseason bullpen additions to handle the eighth — and let's just say the results weren't exactly pretty.
Jordan Romano’s disappointing debut wasn't quite what Phillies fans were expecting
It was a rough Phillies debut for Jordan Romano, as the former two-time All-Star closer got into trouble with a walk and a hit batter at the outset of the eighth inning. Next came a successful double steal that put runners at second and third base with no outs. Those two base runners proved costly for Romano. One scored on a CJ Abrams ground out to first base. The tying run later came around to score on a two-out, game-tying RBI single off the bat of Luis García Jr. to make it a 3-3 game.
Watch for the clutch hit. Stay for the crazy eyes. pic.twitter.com/TQSCmoFLvg
— Nationals on MASN (@masnNationals) March 27, 2025
Romano's performance was clearly a mixed-bag, as the Nationals' offense got back in the game after he surrendered two hits, two earned runs and one walk before exiting the appearance after one inning of work. The veteran right-hander looked frustrated with himself during much of his 29-pitch season debut. Romano was later let off the hook following scoreless appearances from José Alvarado and Matt Strahm in the final two frames, which set up the extra inning heroics delivered in the 10th inning off the bat of Alec Bohm.
While just a small sample size, Phillies fans obviously expect a lot more out of the former two-time All-Star closer, especially after being signed for $8.5 million to replace talented arms like Jeff Hoffman and Carlos Estévez in the back-end of the bullpen. While injuries cost him much of last season, Romano produced solid numbers on the mound between 2020-2023 as a member of the Blue Jays, including 105 saves, 285 strikeouts, a 2.90 ERA and a WHIP of 1.463 in 231 appearances.
Coming off a strong spring training, and with today's rough Phillies debut now behind him, there's obviously plenty of time left for Romano to regain his All-Star form with 161 games remaining on the 2025 schedule.