Opening day 2026: Kyle Schwarber, Alec Bohm homer; Justin Crawford shines in debut; Cristopher Sánchez dominates

Corey Seager swung through a changeup at the bottom of the zone and Cristopher Sánchez let out a roar.

He had just capped six scoreless innings with his 10th strikeout to finish off a stellar opening day start. Reliever Jonathan Bowlan took over in the seventh with a 5-0 lead.

Sánchez allowed three hits and did not walk a batter. His signature changeup had a 54% whiff rate.

It didn’t take long for Citizens Bank Park to get rocking Thursday. In the bottom of the first, Kyle Schwarber let off an opening-day homer to get the crowd on its feet and give the Phillies an early 2-0 lead over the Texas Rangers.

But that didn’t come as a surprise to Detroit natives Ben Bania, 22, and Tommy Harris, 21.

“Baby, all day,” Harris said. “It always happens. You can always expect it.”

Phillies third baseman Alec Bohm has sued his parents, alleging the pair defrauded him of millions of dollars under the guise of managing his financial affairs.

Bohm says in the suit that his parents, Daniel and Lisa Bohm, used several limited liability companies to funnel money from his personal financial accounts, which they then “converted to their own use.” Filed Wednesday in the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, the lawsuit seeks a judgment of at least $3 million, as well as an accounting of the funds in question, among other relief.

Bohm’s parents, through their attorney, denied wrongdoing.

That didn't take long.

Justin Crawford notched his first major-league hit on the first pitch he saw Thursday, a 94.4 mph fastball from the Rangers starter Nathan Eovaldi. Crawford hit the ball hard back up the middle for a two-out single in the second inning.

Before the game, Crawford said he has about 40 family and friends in attendance. Among them: his father, Carl Crawford, a four-time All-Star for the Tampa Bay Rays in a 15-year major league career.

Kyle Schwarber and opening-day homers seem to go together.

For the third time in five season-openers for the Phillies, Schwarber has gone deep, lifting a curveball from Rangers starter Nathan Eovaldi into the left-field seats in the first inning Thursday at Citizens Bank Park.

It was Schwarber's second swing of the season on the fourth pitch that he saw from Eovaldi, and it gave the Phillies a 2-0 lead.

Hours before the sold-out crowd filled the seats at Citizens Bank Park for the opening day festivities, Justin Crawford took a moment alone to walk around center field and take in his new office.

“Just feel the heartbeat of the stadium,” Crawford said. “It’s something I like to do whenever I get somewhere for the first time.”

Crawford, 22, made his major league debut on Thursday, becoming the Phillies’ youngest starting center fielder on opening day since Mike Anderson in 1972. He hit ninth in the lineup, in front of around 40 friends and family in the crowd.

Bryce Harper batted second — with Aaron Judge protecting him — for Team USA in the recent World Baseball Classic,

With the Phillies, he's back in his No. 3 spot.

At times in the offseason, manager Rob Thomson considered bumping Harper to the No. 2 spot and putting Kyle Schwarber behind him. But as the season opens, he decided to stick with the status quo.

Outside NRG Station, Aaron Uscinowicz, 26, grabbed a seat in the shade and chatted Nancy Moore, 62, while he kicked back a light beer.

He told her how his friends encouraged him to wear all his Phillies hats, since he couldn't decide. As for hopes for Thursday's opener, he noted the sunny, beautiful day, and how it would be a good time no matter what.

“It would be nice to get a win, but as a lifelong fan, my hopes aren't too high,” he joked. “We're the losingest team in the history of baseball.”

Sun's out and so are the red-and-white pinstripes.

The energy ahead of the Phillies' home opener against the Texas Ranger was nothing short of exuberant.

“It's a bad day to be a hot dog!” hollered a woman carrying a case of beer, emerging from an NRG Station that is undergoing construction.

Seeing the Phillies play on opening day has become a tradition for many fans, including 56-year-old Wilma Abbott. The West Deptford native, and Phillies season ticket holder, has been attending opening day since she was eight years old.

“My dad was always a sports fan,” Abbott said. “He grew up in Chicago. He was a Cubs fan, but never made me be a Cubs fan. And I just have always liked the Phillies, through the good, bad. There were days where they weren't winning anything, we were still here. So, yep, we have to be here [today].”

After over four decades attending games at Veterans Stadium and Citizens Bank Park, Abbott came prepared with extra Phillies sunglasses to gift to fans — and her own jar of sauerkraut.

Move over Bob Costas, Michael Barkann has something to day.

The longtime NBC Sports Philadelphia personality — one of the few remaining from the Comcast SportsNet days — opened Phillies Pregame Live Thursday with an essay on the timeless bond between Philadelphia and the Phillies, which dates back to 1883.

"Spring, summer, fall. For 144 years, the Phillies have been there, the longest, continuously operating one name, one city franchise in American professional sports," Barkann said. "And through it all, we've been right there with them, cheering, suffering, and sometimes doing both at the same time."

With the season opener upon us, fans — and reporters — are making their way to Citizens Bank Park to watch the Phillies take on the Texas Rangers.

But just how bad is the traffic getting into the city? As a frequent Uber rider from the suburbs of Levittown, I’m here to inform the public. And my main takeaway: please, leave early.

I got in my Uber at around 1:30 p.m., about three hours before the start of the game. The estimated time of arrival to the stadium was 2:11 p.m., leaving me plenty of time to talk to tailgaters ahead of the game. What started as a smooth commute from Levittown quickly changed into car Tetris as we started approaching the stadiums.

Phillies announcer Ben Davis will spend more time in the dugout this season, just one of several new wrinkles fans will experience on NBC Sports Philadelphia.

It all starts on Thursday on opening day, when the Phillies host the Texas Rangers at Citizens Bank Park at 4:15 p.m. on NBC10 and NBC Sports Philadelphia.

Davis, part of the Phillies’ broadcast team since 2015, was in the dugout for a couple of games last season and during spring training. With the introduction of the Automated Ball-Strike Challenge System, Alexandra Matcham, the vice president of content for NBC Sports Philadelphia, thought it made sense to get Davis out of the booth more during key series, including ones against the Atlanta Braves, New York Mets, and Los Angeles Dodgers.

Upon arriving for spring training last month, Bryce Harper held court with reporters for about 15 minutes to discuss his offseason, the state of the Phillies, and more.

The first three teammates he mentioned, in order:

Aidan Miller.

The automated ball-strike (ABS) challenge system, which the Phillies test drove during spring training the last two years, will be officially implemented in Major League Baseball this season. Human umpires still will call every pitch a ball or strike, but players will now have the power to challenge if they disagree.

Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto finished the spring 6-for-6 in challenges behind the plate. Backup catcher Rafael Marchán, who has experience with the system from the minor leagues, won 10 out of 17 challenges. Neither attempted a challenge as a hitter.

Phillies hitters won 61% of their challenges, and Phillies fielders won 63%. The league average this spring was 45% for hitters and 60% for fielders, entering Tuesday.

Harry Kalas still has a statue at the ballpark and a plaque on the Wall of Fame. The broadcast booth is named for the Hall of Fame broadcaster and the Phils play his rendition of “High Hopes” after each win.

But Harry The K’s — a concession stand below the left field scoreboard — will become the Ghost Energy Deck starting with Thursday’s season opener.

The team paid Kalas’ widow, Eileen, a nominal fee each season to use his likeness. Ryan Hughes, the founder of Ghost Energy, said he is making a donation on behalf of Ghost to the Ashburn-Kalas Foundation.

Say this for the 2026 Phillies: You won’t need a program to know who’s who.

Team officials push back on the popular narrative that they are “running it back” after 95- and 96-win seasons but also divisional-round knockouts in each of the last two years. Rob Thomson points out that he will be managing a rookie center fielder, a new right fielder, a rookie starter, and a remodeled group of relievers.

Here are the new faces on the Phillies' roster for opening day this season:

The Phillies are poised to make history Thursday with their earliest opening day ever — home or away — and, if the forecasts are correct, win a gamble with nature.

When Cristopher Sánchez throws the first pitch when the Phils host the Texas Rangers at 4:15 p.m., temperatures are forecast to be around 70 degrees with wind blowing out to right field about 10 mph. Chances are the shadows won’t bedevil the hitters or outfielders, as skies are expected to be mostly cloud-covered.

It should be dry through the game, said Bobby Martrich, a meteorologist with EPAWA Weather Consulting, which provides forecast services to the Phillies. It appears any rain will hold off until the game is well over, likely after midnight.

Can it really be 15 years? Is that possible? How is it even seven years since that first Saturday of March in 2019 when Bryce Harper high-fived The Phanatic atop the first-base dugout for his introductory Phillies news conference?

Time flies when you’re the Face of the Franchise.

But this is an interesting time for Harper. He will play this season at age 33. And when a 33-year-old future Hall of Famer is coming off a season in which he put up across-the-board numbers that weren’t up to his skyscraping standards, people (read: scouts) start to whisper.

Cristopher Sánchez will achieves one of his career goals Thursday when he takes the mound as the Phillies’ opening day starter. He will start opposite Texas Rangers right-hander Nathan Eovaldi.

The Phillies’ rotation order to start the season following Sánchez will be Aaron Nola, Jesús Luzardo, Taijuan Walker, and Andrew Painter, the 22-year-old rookie who made the team with Zach Wheeler still working his way back from thoracic outlet decompression surgery.

When Wheeler’s season ended last August after a blood clot was identified in his arm, Sánchez stepped into the role of ace of the staff.

Opening Day is here, with the Phillies taking the field against the Texas Rangers Thursday afternoon hoping to erase the memory of three straight disappointing playoff exits.

The Phillies’ season debut is scheduled to get underway at 4:15 p.m., and will air live on NBC10.

Calling the game will be Tom McCarthy, the TV voice of the Phillies, who is entering his 20th season on TV with the team. Joining him in the booth will be former first baseman John Kruk, in his 10th season calling Phillies games after 12 years at ESPN.