The Philadelphia Phillies began their 2026 season with a 5-3 win over the Texas Rangers on Thursday afternoon at Citizens Bank Park. Cristopher Sánchez delivered a historic performance, striking out 10 in six scoreless innings without issuing a walk. Kyle Schwarber and Alec Bohm powered the offense with home runs.
Philadelphia Phillies fans at Citizens Bank Park saw their team open the season on a high note Thursday, defeating the Texas Rangers 5-3 amid World Series expectations. Starter Cristopher Sánchez made history, becoming just the sixth pitcher since 1900 to record at least 10 strikeouts and zero walks over six or more scoreless innings on Opening Day. He joined Hall of Famer Bob Gibson from 1967 and former Phillies pitcher Chris Short from 1968 in that elite group. Sánchez marked the first Phillies hurler with 10 or more strikeouts on Opening Day since Curt Schilling's franchise-record 11 in 1997; Art Mahaffey in 1963 and Short in 1965 and 1968 are the others to achieve double digits in a season opener for Philadelphia. Kyle Schwarber wasted no time, crushing an opposite-field two-run homer in the first inning off Nathan Eovaldi to give the Phillies a 2-0 lead. The 2025 National League home run leader with 56 blasts continued his power surge. Alec Bohm followed in the fifth with an opposite-field three-run homer, extending the advantage to 5-0. Bohm, who earlier noted he is not a prototypical cleanup hitter chasing 30-plus homers, demonstrated his ability to deliver doubles, homers and RBIs. Prospect Justin Crawford, the Phillies' No. 3 prospect and No. 53 overall, made an immediate impact in his MLB debut. The son of former big leaguer Carl Crawford singled up the middle on the first pitch he saw from Eovaldi in the second inning, a two-out hit to center field. Crawford, who learned of his Opening Day roster spot from manager Rob Thomson last Saturday in Clearwater, Florida, had about 40 family members and friends in attendance. He called his mother, Amy Freeman, first with the news—she cried—followed by his excited father and younger siblings, ages 12, 6 and 5. The victory signals the Phillies' confidence to compete with top teams like the back-to-back champion Dodgers, though 161 games and the postseason lie ahead.
