Phillies Deliver On Mother’s Day

GAME RECAP: Phillies Edge Marlins 6-5

Tyler Goeddel and Andres Blanco delivered back-to-back RBI doubles in the decisive eighth inning to rally the Phillies to a series-clinching 6-5 win over the Marlins on Sunday afternoon at Marlins Park. It was the second consecutive game that the Phillies came back from a late deficit to defeat the Marlins, who have lost consecutive games after entering the series on a four-game winning streak. The victory gives the Phillies an 11-3 record in one-run games this season. "Winning two out of three from this team, one of the hottest teams in baseball, is really satisfying," Phils manager Pete Mackanin said. "Those guys swing the bats, they've got a heck of a team. To beat them two out of three is a nice feeling going into Atlanta. Our pitching and defense really performed." Marlins starter Justin Nicolino was staked to a 3-0 lead in the fourth, but the Phillies rallied to tie the game in the sixth and grabbed the lead with a run in the seventh off reliever Nefi Ogando. Nicolino, making his third start of the season, gave up three runs (two earned) on seven hits in six innings. Aaron Nola also went six innings, allowing three runs for the Phillies. The doubles by Goeddel and Blanco came off Marlins reliever David Phelps, who was saddled with the loss after inheriting the lead in the eighth. "They're fighting. They're playing with a lot of confidence, very similar to what we have been doing all year," Phelps said of the Phillies. "We never really feel like we're out of the game, and I'm sure they feel the same way over in their clubhouse. All three games were hard-fought."

PHILS PHACTS:

• Odubel Herrera scored from second on Cesar Hernandez's groundout in the seventh inning to break a tie and give the Phillies a 4-3 lead. Herrera, who singled and stole second, went to third on Hernandez's grounder to the right side of the infield. Bour made a nice snag, but his throw to Ogando led him into Hernandez at the bag. The two collided, sending Ogando sprawling. Herrera never hesitated around third. "That was huge," Mackanin said. "We came back twice."
• After 12 straight games scoring four runs or fewer, the Phils finally broke through with back-to-back eighth-inning RBI doubles from Goeddel and Blanco to give the Phils a 6-5 lead. "Goeddel, it was great to see him come up with a big hit," Mackanin said. "He needed that."
• Ichiro, who started in right field to give Giancarlo Stanton a day off, singled in the seventh for his 2,948th career hit. He is seven hits behind Willie Keeler for 32nd on the MLB all-time list.

NEXT GAME:

After an off-day on Monday, lefty Adam Morgan gets the nod on Tuesday when the Phillies conclude their road trip with a three-game series in Atlanta. First pitch is set for 7:10 p.m. ET. Morgan has allowed three earned runs in each of his previous two outings this season, with no decision in either.

PHILS PHACTS:

The Man In Pink – Andres Blanco is a pleasure to be around. His infectious smile and bubbly personality is a welcomed addition to any clubhouse. His mom did well in raising him in Venezuela. Blanco stood on second base, wearing pink shoes and pink high socks -- after swinging a pink bat, a league-wide showing of solidarity in the recognition of breast cancer awareness, and pointed to the sky following his eighth-inning go-ahead RBI double in the Phillies' 6-5 win over the Marlins. That's how he honored his mom on Mother's Day. "That's for mom, and grandma passed away a couple of days ago," Blanco said. "It's appreciation and gratitude." It has been many years since his mother died, but Blanco continues to celebrate Mother's Day in her honor and with his own family, a wife and two boys. He was glad she was able to spend three days with him on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, while the Phillies were in South Florida. "At least I had time to wait for midnight when the day starts and give the present," Blanco said. "At least it's better than nothing." Such is the life of a Major Leaguer traveling the country from March to October. Blanco knows well how precious the time is spent with family. "It's always a pleasure to have your own family with you," Blanco said. "For American players, it's closer. They can fly mom in for the special day. For the Latin guys, it's kind of far away. We would like to have [our families] with us all the time, but it's impossible." Mother's Day remains special each year for Blanco as it brings back memories of his mom. "I'm reminded of what she always told me growing up, that if you want to do something, do it good, and if you want to be great, you've got to go out there and do everything exactly the way they ask you to and practice hard to get better," Blanco said. Authentic game-used Louisville Slugger pink bats and other gear from Mother's Day games will be auctioned exclusively at MLB.com, with proceeds benefiting the fight against breast cancer. The complete Mother's Day collection -- which includes the special caps and jerseys being worn by players on Sunday -- is available at the MLB.com Shop.

Goeddel Coming Around – The Phillies broke out the bats on Sunday -- pink ones in fact, as part of Major League Baseball's recognition of breast cancer awareness on Mother's Day. After 12 straight games of scoring four runs or fewer, the Phils took the series from the Marlins with a 6-5 comeback victory. The Phillies overcame deficits of 3-0 and 5-4 to win with a two-run eighth inning. Back-to-back RBI doubles from Tyler Goeddel and Andres Blanco made the difference. "Goeddel's was a big hit and 'Whitey' [Blanco], he's special," manager Pete Mackanin said. "He just seems to come up big in the pinch all the time. And with a little bit of playing time, [Goeddel] is starting to look like the kind of hitter we think he's got a chance to be. He hit a good fastball. I'm happy for him." Goeddel entered the game looking to break out of a .147 slump and came up with the clutch hit. "I've been working in the cage," said Goeddel, who believes he can be productive with more playing time. "The results haven't been where I want them to be, but for [the double] to be a big part of the game was huge. It's getting my timing down. That's baseball. I'm glad I was finally able to come through." The nail-biter was Philadelphia's 11th victory in 14 one-run games already this season. "It's pitching and defense," Mackanin said. "We seem to scratch and get a run here and there. But you're not going to be in games if your pitching isn't good." As a team, the Phils banged out 10 hits and got at least one from each of the nine positions in the batting order. Cesar Hernandez collected two hits, including a leadoff triple in the fourth inning, and a single and a run scored in the sixth. He leads the club with nine multi-hit games this season. All of those have come on the road.

Happy Mother’s Day! – It was Cameron Rupp's first Major League Opening Day, on April 6, 2015. It was also Kathi Rupp's first opener -- at least as the mother of a big leaguer. As Kathi and the rest of the Rupp clan took their seats at Citizens Bank Park, they got a group text from Cameron. It read, "Here we go." "It was just a very emotional moment, because you know your child's dream came true," Kathi said. "The tears couldn't stop." A little over a year later, the Phillies chose Kathi as the mom they honored in an annual pregame ceremony the team holds during the Sunday home game closest to Mother's Day. Last year, it was Darin Ruf's mom, Mary. Before that, Domonic Brown's mother Rose Joseph Wood was the honoree. On Sunday, Kathi threw out the first pitch to Cameron -- just like she'd always imagined. "When Cameron made it to the big leagues, I had it in the back of my mind, 'Wouldn't it be cool for me to throw a first pitch to Cameron?'" she said. "Never ever did I think this day would come." "It's pretty special," Cameron added. "How many people get to say their mom has thrown a first [pitch] to them?" A mother throwing a first pitch to the son she helped raise into a Major League ballplayer may seem like a story coming full circle with a perfect ending. But the journey is hardly over. It's a goal of Cameron's parents to see him play in all 30 Major League stadiums. They've already checked a few off the list, including Citizens Bank Park, Chase Field and Citi Field. Kathi said they travel from their Texas home about once a month to see their son play. Next month, they're headed to Chicago to see him and the Phillies at Wrigley Field. Once they've checked off all 30, they plan on framing the ticket stubs together. "They both support me more than I can ever ask for," Cameron said. "I can't thank them enough … Them willing to be everywhere I am is pretty cool."

Today In Phils History – It is a homer happy day in Phillies history which began in 1923 when Walt Kinney hit a homerun in his last major league at bat. 50 years later, Johnny Bench came to the plate (three time in fact) and hit a homerun off of Steve Carlton. It was the second time that Bench took Lefty deep three times in a game but the first time against the Phillies. Nearly 20 year later, in 1992, Dale Murphy hit his 398^th and final homerun of his career… he would retire the following season as a member of the expansion Rockies. Speaking of 1993, it was on this day when Mariano Duncan tapped into the magic of that season by hitting a grand slam with two out in the bottom of the 9^th and down by three runs. Other events from the day include the Phillies picking up Ron Roenicke from Oakland and on the same day in 1986 making the mistake of releasing Dave Stewart. 15 year later, Jimmy Rollins stole the first of what would be a franchise record 35 bases before being caught. And finally, on this day three years ago, Charlie Manuel managed his 1,332^nd game for the Phillies passing Gene Mauch for most game at the helm in franchise history.

THE BEGINNING:

The Phillies are currently 18-14 this season putting them on pace to beat most preseason predictions. The Phillies finished the spring exceeding most expectations compiling a record of 15-11-3 (18-11-3 if you include the exhibition games against Reading and the University of Tampa). All time, the Phillies are 46-44-0 on this day. I expect the Phillies to finish in the bottom half of the division but not last in the NL East by finishing the season with a 77-85 record. Let the rebuild begin!

Hamels And Howard Travel Back To 2008

GAME RECAP: Phillies Top Mets 3-1

It felt a little like old times for the Phillies on Friday night at Citizens Bank Park. A pair of homegrown veterans led them to a 3-1 victory over the Mets. Cole Hamels allowed four hits, one run, two walks and struck out eight in seven innings, while Ryan Howard went 2-for-3 with one home run, two RBIs and one walk. "It's awesome," Hamels said about Howard's night. "Ryan and I have played a lot together, and obviously I've seen a lot of his home runs. It's really good to see. He's been working his tail off. It's just like Chase [Utley] -- you want those guys to go out there and put up the numbers we're accustomed to seeing. It's great to see Howie do that right now." Mets ace Matt Harvey couldn't contain the Phillies, who entered the night averaging 2.83 runs per game, the lowest in baseball. He allowed three runs in six innings to take the loss. "I needed to put up zeros tonight, and I didn't do that," Harvey said. "[I have] got to go back to square one and get back to where I was. Tomorrow I just begin to get ready for my next start."

OTHER NOTES FROM THE DAY:

• It has been an up-and-down season for Hamels, but he stepped up in a big way Friday. He loaded the bases with two outs in the fourth inning, but struck out Harvey to end the threat. He cruised the rest of the night, retiring 10 of the final 11 batters he faced to improve to 2-3 with a 3.68 ERA.
• Howard entered the game hitting .255 (13-for-51) with two doubles, one triple, five home runs, 11 RBIs and a .949 OPS in his last 14 games. He singled in the first, beating the defensive shift, to score a run to hand the Phillies a 1-0 lead. He then hit a solo homer to left-center field in the fourth to give the Phillies a 2-1 lead.
• File this under improbable: Utley went 0-for-4 to drop his batting average to .099. According to Baseball Reference, it is the lowest batting average for a qualified hitter through his team's first 30 games since 1914. Utley declined comment about his slump earlier this week in Atlanta. He was not in the clubhouse more than 40 minutes following the final out Friday.
• Papelbon picked up the save to tie Jose Mesa for the franchise record (112). Papelbon already is Boston's all-time saves leader (219), which makes him one of two pitchers in baseball history to lead two franchises in saves. Robb Nen is the other. He has 108 saves for the Marlins and 206 saves for the Giants.
• "It means a lot, actually. A lot of people might not think that, but it means a lot. It's really humbling to be at the top with Jose Mesa. I didn't necessarily come here to do this and break this milestone. I came here to hopefully win some championships." -- Jonathan Papelbon, who tied Jose Mesa for the Phillies' record with 112 saves.

NEXT GAME:

Aaron Harang will make his seventh start of the season for the Phillies on Saturday, his 37th birthday. The right-hander is 3-2 with a 2.35 ERA and has a 29:8 strikeout-to-walk ratio. All of those marks are tops among Phillies starters.

PHILS PHACTS:

Return To Form – When Phillies pitcher Cole Hamels emerged from the dugout to pitch the second inning of Friday night's start, he walked back onto the field to an unfamiliar sight. The Phillies were winning. After the offense combined to score a mere six runs while he was in the game in his first six starts combined, Hamels benefited from an early 1-0 lead and worked into a groove, retiring nine of the first 11 batters he faced in the Phillies' 3-1 win. Hamels couldn't maintain the same level of performance in the fourth inning, relenting a run on two singles, two wild pitches and two walks, one of which was intentional. The lefty threw 25 pitches that inning, just under a quarter of his total for the night. In the mind of Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg, the fourth inning was just a hiccup on an otherwise smooth night for his starter. "Cole was really in control of the game the whole night," Sandberg said. "He had the one inning in the fourth with the run scoring on the wild pitch. He got out of that. But other than that, he was in control." Once Hamels had worked out of the bases-loaded jam in the fourth, it only took his offense one pitch to give him back the lead. First baseman Ryan Howard drilled a Matt Harvey pitch over the 387-foot marker in left-center field to give the Phillies a 2-1 lead. Hamels never looked back, retiring the next eight batters he faced and nine of his last 10 overall. Hamels said having this lead motivated him to keep his pitches in the zone, daring the Mets to beat him rather than allowing his mistakes to benefit the opponents as they did in the fourth. "We've got a lead, so you want to make sure they earn it," Hamels said. "Not walking guys, I know that's kind of been my problem in the past. So I was just trying to go after them, and if they get on with hits, they get on with hits. I didn't really want to give them free passes." In total, Hamels went seven innings, fanning eight Mets and allowing just four hits in a winning effort. The win improved Hamels' record to 2-3 and dropped his ERA to 3.68. Despite the win, the day wasn't without a little bit of embarrassment for Hamels. In the home half of the fifth inning, Hamels was credited with a sacrifice bunt that moved catcher Carlos Ruiz into scoring position. Ruiz scored one at-bat later. However, Hamels didn't think his bunt attempt landed in fair territory and turned his back to the field. Mets catcher Kevin Plawecki promptly tagged Hamels out, and the pitcher walked back to the dugout confused. As aware as he was of where he was placing the ball on the mound, Hamels admitted it took him a long time to realize where that ball was. "I think [it was] when I was walking back to the dugout," Hamels said.

Papelbon Ties Mesa – Jonathan Papelbon knows his words might be difficult to believe considering everything that has happened since he joined the Phillies in 2012, but he said Friday night's events meant something to him. He pitched a scoreless ninth inning to earn a save in Friday's 3-1 victory over the Mets at Citizens Bank Park. It was the 112th save of his Phillies career, which tied Jose Mesa for the most saves in franchise history. "It means a lot, actually," Papelbon said. "A lot of people might not think that, but it means a lot. It's really humbling to be at the top with Jose Mesa. I didn't necessarily come here to do this and break this milestone. I came here to hopefully win some championships. We're still trying to get to that realm. For me, it's very humbling to be atop this organization with all the history it has."  Papelbon already is Boston's all-time saves leader (219), which makes him one of two pitchers in baseball history to lead two franchises in saves. Robb Nen is the other. He has 108 saves for the Marlins and 206 saves for the Giants. Papelbon has had quite a run since he joined the Phillies. He is 12-10 with a 2.40 ERA and 112 saves. He has struck out 226 batters in 210 1/3 innings. He has done his job. But he also has upset some Phillies fans over the years with critical comments about the city, the organization and the fan base. He even got suspended late last season for an inappropriate gesture following a blown save. He has said he relishes the villain role. So when Papelbon said he appreciates his new place in Phillies history and is humbled, he knows some fans might not get past the other stuff and believe it. "I think me going out there and the way that I play and the way that I go about my business and try to play with intensity and passion," Papelbon said, "I think that should kind of speak for itself. And hopefully some fans will see that. And I understand that some fans won't." Papelbon came to Philadelphia to win. That hasn't happened, and it might not as long as he is here. But while he has been brash on and off the field, he has mentored the relievers in the bullpen. By most accounts, he has been a good teammate. But he knows better than anybody that winning is the only thing that matters. It matters to him. It matters to the city. "Hopefully the fans can understand my passion for this game," he said. "It hasn't been an easy road since I've come here. And I know that we haven't been to the playoffs, and I know that's tough for me. I am who I am. Like I said, to be at the top here is a really humbling experience for me. I've been fortunate enough to stay healthy. Hopefully I can continue to stay healthy and help this club win."

Howard Turning Corner? – Everybody wondered what type of hitter Ryan Howard might be in 2015. Maybe this is the guy. He went 2-for-3 with one home run, two RBIs and one walk in Friday's 3-1 victory over the Mets at Citizens Bank Park. He singled to right field in the first inning, beating the defensive shift, to score Freddy Galvis from second base to hand the Phillies a 1-0 lead. He hit a solo home run to left-center field in the fourth inning to make it 2-1. Howard is hitting .278 (15-for-54) with two doubles, one triple, six home runs, 13 RBIs and a 1.035 OPS in his last 15 games. He hit .175 (7-for-40) with three doubles, two RBIs and a .464 OPS in his first 11 games, which included Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg dropping Howard from fourth all the way to seventh in the lineup. Howard left the clubhouse Friday before reporters could speak to him, but Sandberg and others said plenty. "The contact, the quality of the at-bats, laying off pitches, taking some walks," Sandberg said about Howard's turnaround. "Howie looks like he's gained a lot of confidence. That goes with the quality at-bats he's had." Galvis helped Howard pick up his first RBI of the night. The Mets moved third baseman Daniel Murphy to right-center field for Howard's at-bat, leaving shortstop Wilmer Flores as the only defender on the left side of the infield. Flores played a little closer to third on the first pitch to Howard, but inched closer to second after that. Galvis, who went 3-for-3 to raise his batting average to .351, saw an opportunity and took off for third on the fourth pitch of the at-bat, and Howard laced it to right field. Murphy knocked down the ball, but by the time he recovered, Galvis had rounded third, and Murphy had no play. "I just went for it," Galvis said. "If I wasn't going, I think they could have thrown to home plate." And Howard's performance lately? "He's hitting the ball right on the good spot," Galvis said. "I know he's going to keep doing it."

More Than Just A Glove – Phillies right-hander Jerome Williams is not pitching on Mother's Day, but he promises something special for the occasion. "It's a cool tribute," Williams said. "I've got a couple things. You'll see it. Trust me." Phils fans certainly have seen Williams pitching with a pink glove this season. He wears the glove to honor his mother, Deborah, who died of breast cancer in 2001. But Williams also has green, blue, purple and gold gloves. Green represents liver cancer, blue represents prostate cancer, gold represents childhood cancer and purple represents pancreatic cancer. Williams has not yet worn the other gloves in a game, but it could be coming. "It's random," he said. "It could be a random day when I decide to use one." Williams came up with the idea for the colored gloves in the offseason with Wayne Lee, who works for Williams' glove manufacturer. Lee asked Williams which colors he wanted, so Williams asked friends about any forms of cancer that affected them. Williams could have quietly donated money to the American Cancer Society, but the fact people have asked him about the gloves is exactly why he did it. "We're in the spotlight on the field and on TV," Williams said. "I could donate money, but it doesn't show any type of awareness. Going out there and using a different glove and having people wonder why and then when I say why, the people that have been affected by it are looking at it like, 'That's kind of cool. We appreciate that.' That's the whole thing behind it. I want people to appreciate what I'm doing, because I'm doing this from my heart. Everybody knows the story about my mother, but I want to branch out to other cancers, because we don't look at them like breast cancer and prostate cancer." Williams said Mother's Day remains an important day for him. "It's almost like a holiday for me," he said. "Like a really big holiday for me. It's a celebration for mothers out there. But for me, it's a celebration of my mother. That day has been very tough on me over the years. You see mothers coming in and throwing out first pitches and their sons are catching and things like that. I kind of get worked up."

THE BEGINNING

The Phillies are starting the season as expected and are now at the bottom of the NL east at 11-19. Given the departures, aging stars, injuries, and performance this spring, don’t expect their competitive place in the standings to last. All time, the Phillies are 46-44-0 on this day.

Welcome To Opening Day!

GAME RECAP: No Game Yesterday

Phillies took the day off to rest up for the season opener tonight against the Boston Red Sox.

NEXT GAME:

The Red Sox and Phillies will resume a rivalry that began when they faced each other in the 1915 World Series with an Opening Day matchup at Citizens Bank Park on Monday. A more recent connection between the franchises centered on Phillies ace Cole Hamels. Despite spring-long speculation that Boston might trade for the left-hander, he remains in red pinstripes and will start against Boston's Clay Buchholz. First pitch is set for 3:05 p.m. And there's Shane Victorino, a star of the Phillies run of five straight division championship starting in 2007. Now the Red Sox right fielder, he'll be getting his first at-bats in Citizens Bank Park since being traded to the Dodgers at the Deadline in 2012. Both teams are coming off last-place finishes in 2014, but enter the new season with dramatically different expectations. The Red Sox have made extensive roster renovations, not to mention an up-close-and-personal view of what's possible after winning the World Series in 2013 a year after finishing last. To bolster their chances they shelled out $95 million to sign Pablo Sandoval and $88 million for Hanley Ramirez to reinvigorate their offense. The club also signed Rusney Castillo for $72.5 million last year, and the outfielder will start the year in the Minors. Buchholz is the only starter remaining from Opening Day 2014. Rick Porcello was acquired from Detroit and Wade Miley from Arizona in the offseason while Joe Kelly came from St. Louis before the Trade Deadline last season. "I think there's a lot of excitement, and rightfully so, about the additions [general manager Ben Cherington] has made to our team," manager John Farrell said. "This is a talented group." In addition to revamping the rotation, the Red Sox have addressed concerns about an offense that had a .684 OPS last season; only the Mariners finished lower in the American League. "There's no question our lineup is much more deep," Farrell added. "It's got more power potential. It's got a chance to be a dynamic-type lineup." The Phillies, on the other hand, have been upfront that they view this as a rebuilding season. Club president Pat Gillick candidly said on multiple occasions that he doesn't expect the Phillies to contend in 2015 or '16. "I don't think it's in the cards. I think somewhere around 2017 or 2018," he said. That's why, despite hitting fewer home runs (125) than any season since 1997, the Phillies traded Marlon Byrd and Jimmy Rollins, who combined to hit more than a third of them. But those deals netted Minor League pitchers Zach Eflin, Tom Windle and Ben Lively who, the Phillies hope, can help form the basis of their next great rotation. For the series finale, players from both teams will wear replica 1915 caps, commemorating the centennial of the Phillies first World Series appearance. Even though the opening of a new season is a time to look forward, in this case it will be fun to reflect a little on the past as well.

PHILS PHACTS:

Phillies Finalize Roster – The Phillies selected the contracts of outfielder Jeff Francoeur and infielder Andres Blanco on Sunday, as they finalized their roster ahead of Monday's Opening Day game against the Red Sox at Citizens Bank Park. Philadelphia also optioned outfielder Jordan Danks to Triple-A Lehigh Valley, placed right-handers Chad Billingsley and Jonathan Pettibone on the 15-day disabled list and placed left-hander Mario Hollands on the 60-day DL. Those moves left the club with a 25-man roster, featuring 12 pitchers and 13 position players. The Phillies will start the year with a four-man rotation, since they won't need a fifth starter until April 12. The eight-man bullpen will include righty Dustin McGowan, who was signed on Saturday after being released by the Dodgers. Francoeur came to camp as a non-roster invitee, after signing a Minor League deal in November. The 10-year veteran, who played 10 games for the Padres last season, won a job despite hitting .175 (7-for-40) with 10 strikeouts this spring. Blanco made the club as a backup infielder with the ability to handle shortstop. He played in 25 games at short, second base and third base for the Phillies last year, going 13-for-47 (.277) with one home run. Blanco, who turns 31 this coming Saturday, has also played for the Royals, Cubs and Rangers over seven big league seasons. The Phillies' Opening Day roster is as follows: Pitchers (12): RHP David Buchanan, Justin De Fratus, Luis Garcia, Ken Giles, Jeanmar Gomez, Aaron Harang, McGowan, Jonathan Papelbon and Jerome Williams; LHP Jake Diekman, Cole Hamels and Cesar Jimenez; Catchers (2): Carlos Ruiz and Cameron Rupp; Infielders (7): Cody Asche, Blanco, Freddy Galvis, Cesar Hernandez, Ryan Howard, Darin Ruf and Chase Utley; Outfielders (4): Francoeur, Odubel Herrera, Ben Revere and Grady Sizemore.

Opening Day Memories – Charlie Manuel signed his first professional contract in 1963, and since then, he's had an opportunity to see Opening Day from a variety of angles -- as a player, coach and manager in both the Minor Leagues and the big leagues, and as a scout, consultant and special assistant. Now a senior advisor, Manuel is one of three former Major League players currently employed by the Phillies with at least 50 years in baseball, along with Dallas Green and Larry Bowa. As the Phillies prepare to embark on the 132nd season in franchise history when they play the Red Sox on Monday at Citizens Bank Park, here are their Opening Day stories: For Manuel, it all started at Wytheville, Va., the home of the Twins' Class A Appalachian League affiliate. He was 19 years old. "First time up, I hit a home run that went 318 feet down the left-field line," Manuel remembered. "I swung late on it and it hit right in the corner, cleared it by about six or eight inches, maybe, just inside the pole. A guy named Roger Nelson was pitching. He definitely had the ball by me, but it was short down there and I hit it for a home run." Manuel's first Opening Day in the big leagues came in 1969, for the Twins at Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington, Minn. Manuel went hitless in his only at-bat as a pinch-hitter. In 1976, he began a six-year career in Japan, where he blossomed as a slugger, hitting 189 homers. "In Japan, it seemed like every year on Opening Day I hit a home run," Manuel said. "People were out. It was the spring of the year, and they had the orange blossoms blooming and you could smell everything about it, but there was a little chill in the air. Our ballpark was always filled up, like 70,000 people there. There might have been a year or two where I didn't hit a home run on Opening Day, but it seemed like I always did." Manuel's favorite Opening Day, though, came in 2009, a year after the Phillies won the second World Series in franchise history. "Special," Manuel said. "That was the best one. Raising the flag. The fans out there. Also, when we were winning the division [five straight seasons] and I'm up on that concourse and I'm raising the flag and the fans are hollering and we've got the carpet out, and you can smell the food -- that's tremendous. But 2009, definitely, best in baseball for me." Bowa is now the bench coach for Phillies manager Ryne Sandberg. At age 69, he still throws batting practice daily. But when he played his first game for Class A Spartanburg in 1966, Bowa thought his career might be over before it even got started. Bowa's mother and father had come all the way to South Carolina from Sacramento to watch him play. "Bob Wellman was our manager," Bowa related. "I was only a right-handed hitter at that time. Nolan Ryan happened to be pitching that night. I had four punchouts. I remember sitting on the stool, and [Wellman] came over and asked me if I was all right. I said, 'Yeah, but if this is what baseball's about, I might as well go home right now.' Nobody knew who Nolan Ryan was at the time. He said that Nolan Ryan was going to be something special. I said, 'I hope so, because I had no chance.'" Bowa, obviously, turned it around and ended up with 2,191 big league hits. He has fond memories of that first year despite the heavy wool uniforms in the blistering heat and the endless bus trips. "I was in heaven," Bowa said. "You never forget your first game. I didn't even know if I was going to make the team." Entering his 60th year in a career that began as a pitcher with the Reidsville (N.C.) Phillies in 1955, Green is now a senior advisor to Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. Green joined the team after signing his first pro contract in June '55, so his first traditional Opening Day was at Salt Lake City the following year. Green's most memorable Opening Day, though, came while he was GM of the Cubs. "It snowed the night before," Green said. "We were panicked, obviously. I called all the grounds crew staff and the stadium ops staff, and we shoveled snow all morning, trying to get the game in. And we did. God bless them. They worked their butts off, and luckily the sun came out and melted some of the stuff that was lingering and we got the game in. That was just exciting for me. It was really a special day." It's remarkable that the Phillies employ three former players with such longevity in the game. Even more amazing is that they also have three front-office executives -- president Pat Gillick, chairman emeritus Bill Giles and former public-relations director Larry Shenk -- who also have at last 50 years in baseball.

THE BEGINNING

After ending 2014 with a 73-89 record, there second consecutive losing season, the Phillies are currently tied for first place for the 2015 season with a 0-0 record. Given the departures, aging stars, injuries, and performance this spring, don’t expect their competitive place in the standings to last. All time, the Phillies are 10-13-0 on this day.