Phillies Opening Day: Aaron Nola gets exposed after the Phillies jump on Jacob DeGrom

The Phillies jumped on Jacob deGrom on Thursday afternoon, spoiling his Rangers debut by scoring five catches to chase him in the fourth inning.

Then they gave it all up.

The Phils lost their season opener at Texas, 11-7. Leading by five, he gave up nine runs in the fourth inning. Aaron Nola was charged with five, and Gregory Soto gave up four in his Phillies debut.

The Phillies briefly got back into the game with a run in the fifth inning but the Rangers responded with two more on Conor Brogdon and that was all I wrote.

Nola retired 9 of the first 10 players he faced before things fell apart in the fourth inning. Two singles and a walk loaded the bases with one out and the next two swings were loud: Jonah Heim’s two-run and Robbie Grossman’s three-run homer.

It was Nola’s sixth consecutive opening day and by far the worst. He had a 3.38 ERA in the previous five. Thursday marked the first time in his career that he was unable to hold a lead of at least five runs.

Soto walked two and allowed two hits without recording an out. He threw only eight hits in 19 pitches. He’s been a big part of the Phillies offseason, coming from the Tigers in a trade that sent Matt Ferling and Nick Mattoon to Detroit, where Soto has spent the majority of the past two seasons as closer.

Offensively, there was a lot to like about the Phillies. Trea Turner hit a triple in his first hit with the team, part of three consecutive deGromes with Brandon Marsh. Marsh doubled as well.

Alec Baum, who came to camp with noticeably more muscle, followed a strong spring with a great day in the plate. He hit a two-run homer by DeGrom in the second inning, doubled by DeGrom in the fourth and singled for a run in the fifth. He wouldn’t stay on the seven hole for long if he kept swinging like that.

JT Realmuto and Nick Castellanos also had multi-hit games. DeGrom’s six Phillies extra hits were the most he ever allowed. But this was not enough.

The Phils have lost 10 straight games to the Rangers. After a Friday out Friday, they are looking to snap that streak and get their first win of 2023 when Zach Wheeler opposes Nate Eovaldi.