Opening day is usually a good day to be Bryce Harper | Extra Innings

Happy opening day. Baseball, at least the relevant variety, has finally returned to Philadelphia.

For the first time in a while, the Phillies will begin a season with real expectations. The rebuild, the team said this offseason, is finished. After seasons spent on development, the Phillies are expected to be contenders. And that journey will begin this afternoon. No matter what happens, the one guarantee about this season is that it will be interesting. The Phillies are relevant again.

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— Matt Breen (extrainnings@philly.com)

Shortly after joining the Phillies, Bryce Harper was talking to manager Gabe Kapler when the two discussed how Harper handles himself in the batter’s box.

His heart rate, Harper told Kapler, is always under control. No matter how big the situation, Harper said he remains calm. Harper said he finds more stress driving in traffic on the highway. And his nerves should be tested Thursday when he steps to the plate for the first time at Citizens Bank Park wearing red pinstripes.

If past performance is any indication, Harper should be fine. Since Harper reached the majors in 2012, no other player has had more success on opening day. Harper, who will play on opening day for the seventh time, is 9-for-21 in his career on opening day with five homers and a 1.681 OPS. He has the most opening-day homers and the highest opening-day OPS since 2012.

“It feels like when Bryce is on a baseball field, it’s where he’s most at home and where he feels the most calm and where he feels the most relaxed,” Kapler said. “When I watch Bryce work, I can actually visually see it happen. When you watch him in the batting cage and he is just focused on the next pitch. He controls the rhythm of his work better than anyone else.”

Harper homered on three straight opening days before settling last year for two singles in the season opener. This year’s opener brings a matchup against the Braves’ Julio Teheran, who has faced Harper more than any other batter. And no one has had more success against Teheran than Harper, who has eight homers and a 1.702 OPS in 52 plate appearances. It could be the perfect recipe for another successful opener.

“When I step into the batter’s box, 45,000 people going crazy, I would love to put a heart-rate monitor to see what it looks like because I enjoy those moments,” Harper said. “I enjoy the craziness; that is what I do. I love that; I love those situations. I think it is that jump-out-of-a plane kind of feeling. You get into a batter’s box, bottom of the ninth, bases loaded, or even the first game of the series, first game playing somewhere new. I am looking forward to that, looking forward to see what that feels like again and being in those situations of high intensity, emotion and anything like that, so I am very excited.”

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Bryce Harper’s bats are inspired by Chase Utley and made by a Philly company. Harper’s bats are made just 25 miles from Citizens Bank Park by Victus Sports in King of Prussia. The company’s two founders are childhood friends from Central Pennsylvania, and the warehouse is full of Phillies fans.

The Phillies’ rebuild is over, so it’s a good chance to look back and see how they got here. Scott Lauber did that in our Phillies preview section, which was printed today, as he talked extensively with general manager Matt Klentak about each step the team took over the last three seasons.

The Phillies added quite a bit of offense this winter but did not try to improve their starting rotation, which failed them at the end of last season. The Phillies, Bob Ford writes, have “chosen to rely more on good fortune than good arms. This is not a course of action baseball generally rewards.”

The latest episode of our Extra Innings podcast is an interview with Rhys Hoskins. The Phillies first baseman talked about his journey through professional baseball, his impressions of Bryce Harper, how last year still hurts, and what his time in Philadelphia has been like. Be sure to subscribe in iTunes or wherever you find your podcasts.

Today: Opening day vs. Atlanta, 3:07 p.m.

Friday: Phillies enjoy a well-deserved day off.

Saturday: Nick Pivetta starts against Bryse Wilson, 4:05 p.m.

Sunday: Jake Arrieta starts on ESPN Sunday Night Baseball, 7:05 p.m.

Monday: After two days on, one day off for the Phillies.

The Phillies will officially post their starting lineup sometime this morning, but we already know what it will look like. Here it is:

1. Andrew McCutchen LF

2. Jean Segura SS

3. Bryce Harper RF

4. Rhys Hoskins 1B

5. J.T. Realmuto C

6. Odubel Herrera CF

7. Cesar Hernandez 2B

8. Maikel Franco 3B

9. Aaron Nola SP

This lineup gives the Phillies five hitters — McCutchen, Segura, Harper, Hoskins, and Realmuto — who finished last season with at least a .755 OPS. When was the last time the Phillies had a lineup with five hitters who had at least 250 plate appearances and finished with an OPS of at least .755? They had six in 2010: Ryan Howard, Raul Ibanez, Chase Utley, Carlos Ruiz, Shane Victorino, and Jayson Werth.

Send questions by email or on Twitter @matt_breen.

Question: So why is Maikel Franco batting eighth on opening day? Did Kapler offer any explanation? - Joe D. via email.

Answer: Franco began last season batting seventh on opening day, so he’ll slide down one spot to start 2019. He spent most of last season batting fifth, sixth, or seventh and started just 11 games in the eight-hole. The only other options for Franco were sixth or seventh, as Nos. 1 through 5 were booked.

Kapler thinks it’s a way to make the lineup deeper and give the team some power potential at the bottom of the order.

“He’s had some success in the eight-hole in the lineup. He makes our lineup really deep,” Kapler said. “This is a guy who can hit 25 homers and has the capability to drive in 80-plus runs every year batting before the pitcher. It’s a pretty advantageous situation to be in, and I think it makes our lineup deep and strong.”