There were boos every time he took the mound at BayCare Ballpark during spring training.
There were boos on Opening Day when his name was announced for the first time this season at Citizens Bank Park.
And again, there were boos when he was announced as the starting pitcher for Thursday’s series finale against the Rockies.
“It would affect anyone, really,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said about the boos in his office before the game. “But I think he handles it really well.”
At the end of the sixth inning, as the Phillies were inching their way towards their first sweep of the season, Taijuan Walker celebrated while walking off the mound after striking out Hunter Goodman. He made his way to the dugout and for the first time in a long time, wasn’t met with boobirds. In fact, he was met with 34,097 Phillies fans rising to their feet to applaud his outing.
Six scoreless innings. Three hits. Four punch outs. 74 pitches.
3-1, Phillies.
It’s Walker’s first win since May 11 last season. 327 days. He made 16 starts in the interim.
Even with minimal help offensively, this was Walker’s day. If you’re the 32-year-old, you couldn’t ask for a better start to the season.
After a series of infield mishaps for the Rockies in the second inning, the Phillies found themselves with the bases loaded for the second time in under 24 hours. And just like the former … they weren’t able to bring any runs across the plate.
Well, at least Max Kepler tried. Brandon Marsh grounded out to Rockies Pitcher Antonio Senzatela and with a fielder’s choice to catcher Jacob Stallings, Kepler was initially called safe. After review, the ruling was overturned.
You make the call. Max Kepler was initially called safe, but after review, the first run of the game is wiped off the board.
The afternoon of offensive oddities continued in the fourth with J.T. Realmuto. After Realmuto collected his second single of the day, Bryson Stott had what could’ve been a knock into right field, except it hit the Phillies’ catcher on the base path.
Third time is always the charm, right?
Kyle Schwarber led off the fifth inning and should’ve been out on a routine pop up to left fielder and former Phillie, Mickey Moniak. Moniak dropped the ball, putting Schwarber aboard. He scored on a Bryce Harper double two batters later.
Schwarber added a little breathing room with a 444-foot bomb to the second deck in right center field. He’s currently on the longest hitting streak of his career to open the season and is leading the club with four home runs.
These are the games the Phillies need to be winning. Back-to-back series wins, including a sweep, is the expectation when you’re going against subpar teams like the Nationals and Rockies. Now 5-1 on the season, they’re going to face their first big test this weekend with the World Series champion Los Angeles Dodgers coming to town for a three-game series. The Dodgers are currently sitting a pretty 8-0 at the top of the NL West and are coming off of a walk-off win against the Braves. They’ll be hungry for more.
