The Phillies became the sixth pennant winner since 1917 to open the following season with defeats in their first four games.
The last to accomplish the feat?
The 1984 Baltimore Orioles.
No pennant winner has ever lost five consecutive games to open the following year, but that is the type of history the Phillies are looking at as they continue their three-game set in New York on Tuesday night.
Lefty Matt Strahm will be on the bump, but he'll be limited to about 65 pitches. He hasn't started a game in four years. The Yankees counter with righty Doming German.
“You don’t want to start 0-4, that’s for sure,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said on Monday night. “But if we lost four in a row in July, it wouldn’t be that big of a deal. So it looks a little bit worse to start the season.
“We don’t want to keep doing this. We want to keep playing, keep fighting. I know everybody is frustrated. But they keep working. They keep preparing. It’s a resilient group. It’s the same group as last year, for the most part. I expect them to come out here tomorrow, prepare and go out to compete.”
Things won't get easier on Wednesday as the Phils will face Yankees' ace Gerrit Cole.
Phillies Lineup: Turner 6, Schwarber DH, Bohm 5, Hall 3, Castellanos 9, Stott 4, Cave 7, Marsh 8, Stubbs 2, Strahm LHP.
Yankees Lineup: LeMahieu 3, Judge DH, Torres 3, Stanton 9, Donaldson 5, Hicks 7, Kiner-Falefa8, Higashioka 2, Volpe 6, German RHP.
The Odds: The Phillies are +130 underdogs. The over/under is set at 8.5.
The Weather: It'll be a beautiful night in the Bronx with partly cloudy skies and temps in the 60's.
Notes: The Phillies have selected McKinley Moore’s contract, he'll join the club tonight in the bullpen ... Yunior Marté has been optioned, he was rocked last night and recorded just one out while surrendering four runs on three hits ... Jhailyn Ortiz has been DFA'd.
