Each team in today’s showdown had a debut. The Nationals wore their new “Blueprint” City Connect uniforms for the first time. The Phillies had their new pitcher, Jesús Luzardo, making his first start with the club. Even if you love the new uniforms, you’d have to admit that the Phillies had the more impressive debut.
The game started off with an emotional whiplash entirely unbefitting a sleepy Saturday afternoon, as Kyle Schwarber smacked the first pitch he saw from Jake Irvin over the head of Dylan Crews in right, only to be beat out by a great throw as he tried to stretch his hit into a double.