On a night of celebration at Citizens Bank Park, the Philadelphia Phillies could not build on the momentum of their World Series run from last October. Per the Philly.com, the Atlanta Braves beat the reigning MLB champions 4-1 on Opening Night of the 2009 Major League Baseball season.
Newly acquired Braves pitcher Derek Lowe threw 8 shutout innings giving up only 2 hits and striking out 4, while Braves veteran third baseman Chipper Jones went 2 for 4 with a double.
The Phillies went a combined 4 for 31 at the plate with 6 strikeouts. In 6.0 innings, starting pitcher Brett Myers gave up 4 earned runs on 8 hits, 3 of them going for home runs. Despite bringing the tying run to the plate in the bottom of the ninth, the Phillies offensive woes continued as Raul Ibanez struck out swinging to end the game.
Twitterers from Philadelphia and Atlanta shared their thoughts on the season opener for these NL East rivals:
kesmith Braves vs. Phillies. Currently living in South Philly, its best to hide the fact that I was raised a Braves fan.
jeffsalkowski i'm almost glad the phillies are losing this game. at least all the bandwagon jumpers will give up now
smelltheglove @retrophisch Braves are looking awfully good in this pre-opening day game. :)
chandlerepp Looks like it's gonna be a great start to the season. For now, at least... #braves
katherine77 Huh. Are the Braves this good, or are the Phillies this bad?
One twitterer posted a picture from inside Citizens Bank Park during pre-game festivities:
