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Bryce Harper Addresses Phillies 'Comical' Opening Day Strikeout Spree

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Mike Ostrowski | Last updated Mar 28, 2025 3:00 PM ET

Although the Philadelphia Phillies came away with a win over the Washington Nationals to start the 2025 MLB season, their hitters didn't make it easy.

The Phillies set a franchise record with 19 Opening Day strikeouts, which included flailing 12 times in the first five innings.

Only thanks to Bryce Harper and others hammering the Washington bullpen did the Phils come away on top and avoid wasting a great start by Zack Wheeler. Still, Harper knows it can't happen again.

"Obviously, we don’t want to punch out 19 times,” Harper told Scott Lauber of the Philadelphia Inquirer. “It’s comical, right? It’s not fun to do that. And we can’t do that as a team."

Harper got the Phillies' first run of the game on a solo shot leading off the seventh. He would also come walk and around to score on a double in the top of the 10th inning, showing the plate discipline his squad flashed throughout spring training.

Nevertheless, his team ended the first day as MLB strikeout leaders* (only the Chicago Cubs and Los Angeles Dodgers, who already played two additional games in Japan, have more).

Philly's bats going silent has been a recurring problem during their three playoff runs. From only scoring three runs in the final three games of the 2022 World Series to managing just one run twice during last year's NLDS against the New York Mets, Wheeler pitched a Game One gem but never had the chance to take the mound again.

History nearly repeated itself on Thursday. Throughout a 162-game season, it'll inevitably happen a few times. But for Philadelphia's sake, they had better hope that this recent example was due to the shadows on the field and not a sign of things to come.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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