September 14, 2016
The Phillies will open and close the 2017 season in the same places against the same teams as the 2016 season.
Major League Baseball unveiled the entire slate of games for next season and the Phillies will open at Cincinnati for the second consecutive year. Opening Day is scheduled for Monday, April 3 at Great American Ball Park in Cincy.
And just as with this year, the Phils will close out ’17 at home against the New York Mets. The 2017 home opener is scheduled for Friday, April 7 at 3:05 p.m against the Washington Nationals.
The 2017 season will mark the sixth time in eight years that the Phillies have opened the season on the road. They have only spent Opening Day at Citizens Bank Park in 2011 (against Houston) and 2015 (against Boston) during that eight-year span.
Coincidentally, the Red Sox (June 14-15) and the Astros (July 24-26) are two of the four American League teams that will pay visits to South Philly in 2017. Also coming into Citizens Bank Park in 2017 are the Seattle Mariners (May 9-10) and the former inhabitants of Philadelphia, the Oakland Athletics (Sept. 15-17).
Although interleague play matches up the Phillies with the American League West in 2017, Cole Hamels will not be having a Philadelphia homecoming. The Phillies visit Hamels and the Rangers from May 16-18.
For now, there is no on-deck series (this year the Phils had one one exhibition game against Baltimore wrapped around their inaugural “Futures Series” with their own minor leaguers) but it won’t be surprising to hear the team announce home exhibition dates in Philly for the first weekend of April.
@MattGelb @ToddZolecki @CoreySeidmanCSN @JSalisburyCSN @ryanlawrence21 Phils open 2017 @Reds. Who's in the starting lineup on opening day?
— Brian Hunn (@brianhunn) September 14, 2016
OK, I’ll play along.
| 1 | Cesar Hernandez | 2B |
| 2 | Roman Quinn | CF |
| 3 | Jose Bautista | RF |
| 4 | Maikel Franco | 3B |
| 5 | Odubel Herrera | LF |
| 6 | Tommy Joseph | 1B |
| 7 | Cameron Rupp | C |
| 8 | Freddy Galvis | SS |
| 9 | Jerad Eickhoff | P |
Wait, who is that guy hitting third? Well, Pete Mackanin wants a hitter and you can make a very smart argument that the Phillies will pursue one this winter.
And isn’t that lineup more fun that way, if nothing else?
