The Philadelphia sports world is reaching a territory it hasn’t been in quite some time. With it being April 1st, baseball season is underway. The Phillies are defending their National League title and very well could be in that series come October. The 76ers have five games left, boasting a 51-26 record, and are preparing for a championship pursuit. The last time both the Phillies and Sixers had legitimate championship hopes simultaneously was the 7 year stretch from 1976-1983. *sighs* Funny enough that is not the Philly Sports Stat of the Week. 

A quick recap on the game. The Phillies lost 11-7 after being up 5-0 after 3 and ⅔ innings. The Rangers shelled Aaron Nola. Gregory Soto had little control and Connor Brogdon got lit up for his one inning of work. Trea Turner, J.T. Realmuto, Alec Bohm, Nick Castellanos, and Brandon Marsh all came to hit, especially for extra-bases. The Phillies have Zach Wheeler on the bump against the Rangers’ Nate Eovaldi today, Saturday, April 1st at 4:05 pm. 

Philly Sports Stat of the Week: Opening Day Edition 

Stat #1: The Phillies haven’t beaten the Rangers in almost a decade. Yesterday was a blown opportunity. At least with the new schedule rules the Phillies have another shot much much sooner. 

Stat #2: Aaron Nola and former Phillies pitcher Jon Lieber now have something unique in common. It’s a long season everybody. Nola can adjust and shake off this bad first start.

Stat #3: The Phillies’ hot hitting to start the game could not set them up enough to hold onto a win. Mirroring something the 2013 Phillies did. 

Stat #4: Former Mets pitcher Jacob deGrom did not make the Phillies look like the Sillies on Opening Day. They chased him straight out of the game.

Stat #5: Brandon Marsh and Trea displayed their speed yesterday as they legged out back-to-back triples. Can you guess who the last two Phillies to hit back-to-back triples? 

Stat #6: Another insane Jacob deGrom stat. 

Stat #7: The Rangers’ offense was humming on Opening Day. 

Honorable Mentions: Conversational Stats

The honorable mentions will be dedicated to giving anyone who reads this site a stat to store in the back of their mind. I don’t like to assume but I tend to assume that anyone who reads this site is most likely the ‘sports person’ for someone in their life. I’m doing my small part to help you look smarter for anyone that thinks you are in fact a walking sports almanac and know everything about the sports world. 

Honorable Mention #1: P.J. Tucker finds 3-point shooting accuracy on more than 2 attempts. A good sign with the playoffs right around the corner.

Honorable Mention #2: Shooting from anywhere in the half-court in the 1st half of  the Sixers’ 117-110 win was not a problem for the Sixers. 

Honorable Mention #3: Tyrese Maxey has put up these stats during the Sixers’ vaunted March schedule.