Lots of things went on at last night's opener in Philadelphia. As usual, the players entered from the outfield and walked through a sea of red, this year made up of fans selected to take part in the on-field action. Lucky, lucky, lucky!
The Phanatic of course led the team parade.
The players, coaches, etc. made their way through the sea of red.
There were lots of happy faces and much slapping of hands.Predictably, the game itself was anticlimactic. Brett Myers served the Braves a tasty selection, and Brian McCann, Jeff Francoeur, and rookie Jordan Schafer all took advantage, with some booming home runs. All the damage, to the tune of four runs, was done in the first two innings. But all the Braves needed was McCann's humongous two-run shot in the first in a 4-1 win. Derek Lowe had his sinker and slider going and the Phillies helped him by lunging early and fast. They scored only once, in the 9th, which Eric Bruntlett led off against reliever Mike Gonzales with a double. Jayson Werth got him in and with two on and one out, Ryan Howard struck out looking at a fastball down the middle. Raul Ibanez ended the game with a swinging strikeout.
It took 17 minutes and three homeruns for some boobirds to start up. I'll cut them some slack and merely call them drunken nitwits.
On the sunny side, after his first spaced-out innings, Myers settled down and didn't allow another run. New acquisition Jack Taschner pitched a 1-2-3 seventh. Eyre, Durbin, and Lidge dusted the Braves off the rest of the way. But Lowe was the star of the game.
This is the 4th year in a row that the Phillies have dropped the opener to a division rival. It's the 3rd in a row that Myers has started it. April is always the Phillies' cruelest month.
