Phillies Find Out Which Arms They'll Face Opening Weekend

The Phillies found out as the weekend came to a close who they'll be facing on Opening Day. The Texas Rangers will start 36-year-old, 15th-year veteran Nathan Eovaldi at Citizens Bank Park on March 26, manager Skip Schumaker told reporters Sunday.

It was always going to be either Eovaldi or Jacob deGrom. The Rangers' plan is to use deGrom in their home opener on April 3, which could mean deGrom faces the Phillies in Game 2 of the season on March 28.

Phillies' opening rotation

The Phillies have not revealed how they'll align their starting rotation to begin the season, likely because of the impact of the World Baseball Classic. They've had three members of their rotation participate: Cristopher Sanchez (Dominican Republic), Aaron Nola (Italy) and Taijuan Walker (Mexico).

Walker is back in Phillies camp and started on Sunday against the Braves, going five scoreless innings and throwing 42 of his 60 pitches for strikes.

Sanchez was with the Dominican team until its loss to the USA on Sunday night. He threw five scoreless innings in a quarterfinal win over Korea on Friday. He figures to pitch once more in spring training before making the Phillies' Opening Day start. It would be Sanchez' first and Eovaldi's sixth.

Nola is still with Italy and will likely start Tuesday's championship game if Italy beats Venezuela in Monday's semifinal. Whether or not Nola does will impact when he pitches next in Phillies camp, which could also affect whether he starts the second, third, fourth or fifth game of their season.

The Phils are at home to open 2026 with three games against the Rangers and three against the Nationals. They have an off-day after their first and sixth games.

History with Eovaldi

Eovaldi has been around forever, but the only Phillies he's faced more than a handful of times are Bryce Harper, J.T. Realmuto and Trea Turner.

• Harper has gone 8-for-24 (.333) with a double, homer, four walks and eight strikeouts.

• Realmuto is 4-for-9 with a homer, walk and strikeout.

• Turner is 1-for-8 with a triple and two K's.

Eovaldi has not pitched at Citizens Bank Park since 2021 in a matchup against Spencer Howard.

He's sure found the fountain of youth in Texas. His three seasons with the Rangers have been three of the four best of his career, all from ages 33-35. Eovaldi was 11-3 with a 1.73 ERA and 0.85 WHIP in 22 starts last season, missing the final month with a rotator cuff injury.

Even more history with deGrom