By Tim Kelly, Sports Talk Philly editor 
Final: Nationals 7, Phillies 6
WP: Max Scherzer (1-0) ❖ LP: Vince Velasquez (0-1) ❖ SV: Blake Treinen (3)
PHILADELPHIA — One of the Philadelphia Phillies' hopes for 2017 is that Vince Velasquez is able to go deeper into games than he did in 2016. If Friday was any indication, it's going to be a long season for Velasquez.
The Phillies were nearly able to erase a seven-run deficit, but fell short of what would have been a pretty incredible comeback in their home opener.
Game Summary:
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | R | H | E | |
| WAS | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 11 | 0 |
| PHI | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 6 | 9 | 0 |
In a 25-pitch first inning, Bryce Harper launched a two-run home run into the right field stands, a precursor of things to come. Daniel Murphy would do the same thing in the third inning, which put the Nationals up 4-0.
Velasquez, as he did for much of 2016, struggled with his pitch count, seemingly only striking hitters out or giving up home runs. In four innings, the 24-year-old allowed five hits and struck out 10. Unfortunately for him, two of those five hits were two-run home runs and he threw 94 pitches, so it was a short afternoon for Velasquez.
Joely Rodriguez replaced Velasquez, but saw much of the same results in the fifth inning, which was his first of two innings of work, as Jayson Werth gave the Nationals a seven-run lead on a three-run home run.
In the home half of the sixth, Odubel Herrera got the Phillies on the board with a single that plated Freddy Galvis, which cut the lead to 7-1.
The Phillies made it a respectable game in the bottom of the seventh, when Aaron Altherr added onto a Galvis RBI by hitting a two-run, opposite field home run.
In the eighth, the Phillies wasted having runners on first and second with no one out, as they didn't manage to push a single run across.
That came into play in the ninth, as Galvis hit his second home run of the season, a two-run shot that cut the lead to 7-6. Unfortunately for the Phillies, they weren't able to score the tying run, as they stranded Cesar Hernandez on first base and allowed Blake Treinen and the Nationals to escape with the series-opening win.
Starting Pitchers:
| IP | H | R | ER | BB | SO | HR | ERA | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Max Scherzer | 6.2 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 2.70 |
| Vince Velasquez | 4.0 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 10 | 2 | 9.00 |
At the Plate:
Nationals
- Bryce Harper: 2-4, 2 H, HR, 2 RBI
- Daniel Murphy: 2-4, 2 H, HR, 2 RBI
- Jayson Werth: 1-4, HR, 3 RBI
Phillies
- Odubel Herrera: 2-4, 1 RBI, 1 BB
- Freddy Galvis: 2-4, 2 H, HR, 3 RBI
- Aaron Altherr: 1-3, HR, 2 RBI
Bullpen:
Nationals
- Sammy Solis – 0.1 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 0 BB, 1 SO
- Enny Romero – 0.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 0 SO
- Koda Glover – 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 0 SO
- Blake Treinen - 1.0 IP, 2 H, 2 R, 1 BB, 1 SO, SV
Phillies
- Joely Rodriguez - 2.0 IP, 5 H, 3 R, 3 ER, 2 BB, 3 SO
- Joaquin Benoit – 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 1 SO
- Hector Neris – 1.0 IP, 1 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 1 SO
- Jeanmar Gomez – 1.0 IP, 0 H, 0 R, 0 BB, 2 SO
What's Next:
- Saturday, April 8, 2017: vs Washington Nationals, 7:05 p.m.
- Citizens Bank Park
- TBA vs. RHP Aaron Nola (2016: 8-6 4.78 ERA)
- TV: NBC 10; Radio: SportsRadio 94 WIP
