By Matt Rappa, Sports Talk Philly editor 
The Philadelphia Phillies' season-opening series could not have resulted in a better outcome.
As a team, three wins, zero losses, 23 runs scored in 24 innings at the plate — all against the club's National League East division rival Atlanta Braves.
Individually, Phillies players' stats culminated toward the club's early success, especially from the the No. 3-5 hitters in the lineup, right fielder Bryce Harper, first baseman Rhys Hoskins and catcher J.T. Realmuto — combining for a 1.472 OPS. Hoskins, in particular, has walked in five of his 12 plate appearances this season, on top of doubling, homering and being hit by a pitch (albeit controversially) once each. His five walks rank tied for third-best in the majors, trailing only Giancarlo Stanton (7, NYY) and Christian Yelich (6, MIL).
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Including Andrew McCutchen's and Jean Segura's production at the top of the lineup, the Phillies' No. 1-5 hitters have reached base in 29 of 61 plate appearances — combining for a .475 on-base percentage — notes NBC Sports Philadelphia's Corey Seidman. No. 8 hitter Maikel Franco is tied for having the fifth-most RBI this season, trailing only Domingo Santana (10, SEA), Cody Bellinger (8, LAD), Khris Davis (8, OAK) and Yelich (8). Also, Franco's 1.111 slugging percentage is tied for fourth-best, while his 1.694 ranks as third-best.
This Phillies lineup is already frustrating pitchers. They are grinding through at bats and crushing homers
Bryce Harper
“Its the next man up mentality with us”#RingTheBell pic.twitter.com/GF5p7x8p4R
— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) April 1, 2019
On the mound, Phillies pitching is tied for allowing the fourth-fewest hits (21) and seventh-fewest runs (11). They are also one of eight teams to have yet committed an error in the field.
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The Phillies not only swept a National League East opponent in a season-opening series for the first time since 2001 — and are 3-0 for the first time since 2011 — but they also drew the most fans (130,476) over their first three home games to start a season since 2012 (135,684). The Phillies, as Jayson Stark notes, are a Tuesday win away from a 4-0 start, which would be their first since 1915, a year they went to the World Series.
Manager Gabe Kapler's club is the only one to remain undefeated in MLB; in the National League, only the Los Angeles Dodgers (42) and Chicago Cubs (28) have scored more runs, while only the Cincinnati Reds (8), Pittsburgh Pirates (5) and San Diego Padres (5) have allowed fewer than the Phillies' 11.
Harper received MVP chants from the Phillies' faithful on Sunday, and it was not even March. It's a marathon, not a sprint, when it comes to MLB, but after the first three games this season, it is hard not to get excited about high-caliber, thrilling baseball in South Philadelphia once again.
