The Philadelphia Phillies came out early with an impressive power display on Monday night at Citizens Bank Park, using three home runs off Arizona Diamondbacks starter Zac Gallen to earn a 5-3 win in the opening game of the 2023 NLCS.
A Game 1 victory not only got the Phillies off on the right foot against the Diamondbacks, but also continued a history-making trend in Philadelphia.
Philadelphia Phillies have become masters of Game 1 matchups
With Monday night's victory, the Phillies improved to 22-7 all-time in Game 1 postseason play. That's a winning percentage of .759, the best among all teams in MLB history (minimum of 20 games played). Additionally, Philadelphia has now captured eight consecutive Game 1 wins, taking each opening postseason matchup since the first game of the 2011 NLDS against the St. Louis Cardinals.
That loss to the Cardinals in 2011 is a rare blemish for the Phillies in Game 1 action as the Phils have won 15 of their last 16 Game 1 postseason appearances, dating back to Game 1 of the 2008 NLDS against the Milwaukee Brewers.
The win is a good sign for the Phillies to return to the World Series as, in 53 previous NLCS matchups, the team that takes Game 1 has eventually won the series 38 times (71.7 percent).
Additionally, since moving the NLCS to a seven-game format in 1985, the team that wins Game 1 has advanced to the Fall Classic 70.3 percent of the time (26 times in 37 seasons). That number gets even better if you just look at the last 10 NLCS matchups (since 2013) as the team winning Game 1 has advanced eight times.
"Being 1-0 in the series is huge, and we have a big one tomorrow as well," Philadelphia slugger Bryce Harper said after the game. "And that's a good team over there, man. They're not going to lay down. They fought, and I thought we battled as well. I thought it was a good Game 1, and looking forward to tomorrow."
