Even before today’s game began, the Phillies were in the hole. Bryce Harper would be out of the lineup with back stiffness, something that plagued him towards the end of the last season.
Despite this, the offense got off on the right foot making Cardinals pitcher Kwang Hyun Kim throw over 30 pitches in the first inning. However, only one run came across.
Alec Bohm laced an RBI single to the left-center field gap scoring Rhys Hoskins. They’d get the bases loaded eventually, but Matt Joyce filling in for Harper, saw his 3-0 count end up in a strikeout.