Alec Bohm delivers in 10th inning to lead Phillies to Opening Day win over Nationals

Lochlahn March, The Philadelphia Inquirer on Mar 27, 2025

Published in Baseball

By clicking submit, I authorize Arcamax and its affiliates to: (1) use, sell, and share my information for marketing purposes, including cross-context behavioral advertising, as described in our Privacy Policy , (2) add to information that I provide with other information like interests inferred from web page views, or data lawfully obtained from data brokers, such as past purchase or location data, or publicly available data, (3) contact me or enable others to contact me by email or other means with offers for different types of goods and services, and (4) retain my information while I am engaging with marketing messages that I receive and for a reasonable amount of time thereafter. I understand I can opt out at any time through an email that I receive, or by clicking here

WASHINGTON — In an alternate reality, Alec Bohm may not have been on the Phillies’ roster on opening day.

If one of the calls the Phillies got inquiring about him this winter met their assessment of the third baseman’s trade value, he would have been in another city, wearing another jersey on Thursday.

But instead, he was up to the plate against the Nationals in the 10th inning, lacing a two-run double to center field to help propel the Phillies to a 7-3 Opening Day win.

Bohm connected on an elevated fastball from reliever Colin Poche to break a 3-3 stalemate, and later came around to score on a triple from J.T. Realmuto.

Bohm’s heroics helped rescue the game from Opening Day infamy. With late-afternoon shadows creeping across the infield, Phillies hitters struck out a collective 19 times, surpassing a franchise record set last year for most on Opening Day and falling one shy of their all-time record.

Against Nationals starter MacKenzie Gore, responsible for a career-high 13 of those, they mustered a single base runner. Kyle Schwarber singled to lead off in the second inning, but even that was quickly erased when he was caught stealing.

Bryce Harper — who was greeted by boos from Nationals fans every time he stepped to the plate — salvaged the game in the seventh with one swing of the bat. He sent the first pitch he saw from Nationals reliever Lucas Sims over the center-field wall, bringing life back into the visiting team. Two batters later, Schwarber also went deep to give the Phillies their first lead.

Until Harper’s swing, Zack Wheeler had kept his team in it. The Phillies starter picked up where he left off last season, striking out eight and walking a pair across six innings. His fastball velocity was even up a tick, averaging 96 mph with his four-seam.

The only two hits Wheeler allowed were to Keibert Ruiz. The Nationals catcher singled in the third inning and won a 13-pitch at-bat with a solo home run to right field in the fifth.

The Phillies tacked on another run in the eighth when Max Kepler doubled, advanced to second on a single from Nick Castellanos, and came around to score on a wild pitch.

But a shaky debut from new reliever Jordan Romano allowed the Nationals back into it. Romano allowed a leadoff walk to Dylan Crews and then hit Jacob Young. A double steal put both in scoring position and the Nationals tied the game on an RBI groundout and a single.

The Phillies loaded the bases in the top of the ninth inning with the opportunity to pull back in front, but Bryson Stott flew out to center field to end the frame. José Alvarado pitched a 1-2-3 bottom of the inning to force extras, while Matt Strahm retired the side to slam the door in the 10th.