Phillies 2019 Opening Day: Tickets, Season Preview, More

PHILADELPHIA, PA — No matter how bitter the previous, playoff-less autumn, how biting the doldrums of a restless winter, hope springs anew each March for players and fans across the country. Baseball's opening day is just around the corner.

The Phillies will take on their archrivals and defending NL East champion Atlanta Braves on March 28, and you can catch all the action — or, if you’re really lucky, a foul ball — for as little as $59. Click here to find tickets at Citizens Bank Park and enter the promo code “PatchTickets10” at checkout to get 10 percent off.

The game begins at 3:05 p.m. Car parking at the stadium is $18. Fans should expect a full and raucuous house, and should plan to arrive early to get a good spot. For more details on various parking options, see here.

For Phillies fans, Opening Day can't come soon enough. Despite a successful offseason by any measure — the team has added four All Stars to the roster — the city craves an end to the superstar drama, to baseball's biggest storyline the past several months: where free agent outfielder Bryce Harper will sign. The Phillies remain the heavy favorites in late February, but with the season starting soon, the uncertainty has left many frustrated.

>>What Signing Bryce Harper Would Mean For The Phillies

The Phillies are coming off a roller coaster of a 2018 season that saw them produce their best record in six years at 80-82. Yet it was ultimately a dissapointing result, as a breakout first half had the team positioned for a playoff run into late August before the wheels fell off in the season's final dreadful weeks.

Even if the Phillies don't get Harper, they're still positioned to compete for their first playoff appearance and division title since 2011. In addition to trading for Jean Segura and J.T. Realmuto, and signing David Robertson and Andrew McCutchen, the team returns a core of exciting young players headlined by ace Aaron Nola and slugger Rhys Hoskins.

But it won't be easy. Three other teams in their division — the Braves, the Mets, and the Nationals — all made notable additions this offseason, too. For the first time in recent memory, it seems realistic that any one of those four teams could win it all, making for quite an exciting summer ahead.

Experts are divided on who has the upper hand. Projection models like the famed PECOTA give the Nationals a slight nod, though the Phillies have the best odds of any team in their division of winning the World Series, at 16 to 1, per Oddschecker.

The Boston Red Sox are the betting favorites to repeat as World Series champions, at 11 to 2, after dominating the postseason last fall. Most experts and projection models agree, however, that their two American League rivals, the New York Yankees and Houston Astros, are better teams. Both made notable additions over the winter, while Boston lost two key parts of their bullpen: Craig Kimbrel and Joe Kelly.

In the National League, 2017 and 2018 champion Los Angeles Dodgers are favored by both odds and projections to win a third straight pennant. The National League is filled with contenders, though, as at least 11 of the 15 teams made moves this winter to position themselves to win right now. That stands in stark contrast to the American League, which outside of the "superteams" in Boston, New York, and Houston, and the only competitive team in the central, Cleveland, is filled with teams in various stages of rebuilding.

Here’s the full list of home openers from around the league:

March 28

Texas Rangers vs. Chicago Cubs

Washington Nationals vs. New York Mets

New York Yankees vs. Baltimore Orioles

Oakland Athletics vs. Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim

Los Angeles Dodgers vs. Arizona Diamondbacks

Milwaukee Brewers vs. St. Louis Cardinals

San Diego Padres vs. San Francisco Giants

Philadelphia Phillies vs. Atlanta Braves

Minnesota Twins vs. Cleveland Indians

Kansas City Royals vs. Detroit Tigers

Tampa Bay Rays vs. Houston Astros

Seattle Mariners vs. Boston Red Sox

Cincinnati Reds vs. Pittsburgh Pirates

Miami Marlins vs. Colorado Rockies

April 1

Pittsburgh Pirates vs. St. Louis Cardinals

Cleveland Indians vs. Chicago White Sox

Atlanta Braves vs. Chicago Cubs

April 4

New York Mets vs. Washington Nationals

Detroit Tigers vs. Kansas City Royals

Chicago White Sox vs. Seattle Mariners

Baltimore Orioles vs. New York Yankees

St. Louis Cardinals vs. San Diego Padres

Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim vs. Texas Rangers

April 5

Colorado Rockies vs. Los Angeles Dodgers

Arizona Diamondbacks vs. Boston Red Sox

Houston Astros vs. Oakland Athletics

April 8

Chicago Cubs vs. Pittsburgh Pirates

April 9

Boston Red Sox vs. Toronto Blue Jays

See related Phillies coverage:

• Phillies Land All Star Catcher J.T. Realmuto In Blockbuster Trade
• Phillies Sign Reliever David Robertson To 2-Year Deal
• Phillies Sign Former MVP Andrew McCutchen To $50M Deal
• Phillies Trade Carlos Santana, J.P. Crawford For Jean Segura
• Sooner Or Later, Phillies Must Address Roster Excesses

Patch national staffer Dan Hampton contributed to this report.

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