Though he sprinkled in some walks, Jeremy Hellickson threw four scoreless innings in Sunday afternoon's win over the Houston Astros. That impressive start, it appears, clinched the 28-year-old getting his first Opening Day start.
Philadelphia Phillies' manager Pete Mackanin spoke to reporters this afternoon, including Ryan Lawrence of Philly Voice, and said that Hellickson will start the team's Opening Day game in Cincinnati.
Hellickson is Opening Day starter. Nola gets nod for home opener in Philly a week later.
— Ryan Lawrence (@ryanlawrence21) March 23, 2016
Mackanin would go on to say that Aaron Nola will start the Phillies' second game of the season, followed by Charlie Morton in the third game.
As Lawrence also noted, the way that the schedule lines up, Nola is on track to start against the San Diego Padres on April 11th, which will be the Phillies' first home game of the season.
As our Matt Albertson said in a previous article, had Nola, 22, started on Opening Day, he would have been the youngest Phillies' Opening Day starter since Harry Coveleski in 1909.
Instead, Hellickson will get the ball to start the season after the Phillies acquired him in a trade from the Arizona Diamondbacks this past off-season. In two starts this spring, Hellickson has pitched seven innings and has a 1.29 ERA. The former American League Rookie of the Year posted a 9-12 record with a 4.62 ERA in 146 innings in 2015.
Tim Kelly (@TimKellySports) is the Managing Editor of Philliedelphia.com, focusing on news and features.
