Philadelphia Phillies relief pitcher Hector Neris celebrates with catcher J.T. Realmuto (Bill Streicher/USA TODAY Sports)
Sweep! You heard that right, the Philadelphia Phillies began their season with a sweep against the Atlanta Braves — featuring excellent pitching, defense, and low-scoring victories.
This does not sound like the Phillies we are used to. Even if this feeling is weird, there are several positive thoughts to be had. Here are three, which very well may be overreactions at this early stage of the season.
1. The Phillies bullpen is … good.
While this might be a stretch to say, we can at the very least say the Phillies have a much better bullpen than last season.