In Photos: Saquon Barkley and Brandon Graham kick off Phillies' home opener against Rockies

The Philadelphia Phillies shared some pictures from their pregame ceremony at Citizens Bank Park on Instagram on Monday. The photos featured stars from the Super Bowl LIX champion Philadelphia Eagles: defensive end Brandon Graham and star running back Saquon Barkley.

Graham and Barkley also took photos with second baseman Bryson Stott and outfielder Brandon Marsh, to whom they had pitched earlier. Graham even sang the team chant along with the crowd as he entered with the Vince Lombardi Trophy to pump up the home fans.

They did the ceremonial first pitch, which got the fans excited. The Phillies captioned,

“Did somebody say ‘Fly’?”

The Phillies have a 3-1 season record after playing their first home game this season. They won their first game 7-3 in extra innings against the Washington Nationals on March 27. A couple of days later, they defeated the Nationals 11-6 but lost the next game 5-1 against the same team.

It wasn’t Barkley’s first appearance on the field for a pregame ceremony. He had previously participated in the first pitch ceremony for the New York Yankees while playing for the local team, the Giants, in 2018. The Yankees were taking on the Astros in a three-game series. Barkley said,

“When you step out of the element, that’s when it gets different. I actually was a little nervous.”

However, Barkley appeared calm at the park as he was accompanied by the veteran Graham, who recently announced his retirement last month.

Brandon Graham announces retirement after 15 seasons

Picked as the 13th overall pick in the 2010 NFL draft, Graham had a fairy-tale ending to his NFL journey, playing all 15 seasons with the Eagles and finishing with his second Lombardi Trophy.

He announced his retirement in a press conference in March, where he read his pre-written speech.

Accordingly, the Phillies made sure the homecoming game didn’t disappoint the fans and the Eagles stars, as they secured a 6-1 victory. The Phillies took a 2-1 lead by the seventh inning, courtesy of a two-run double from Edmundo Sosa.

It was followed by a Kyle Schwarber two-run homer that extended the lead to 4-1. Overall, it turned out to be a great outing for Philadelphia fans, who witnessed their team’s victory and were in attendance to watch Saquon Barkley and Brandon Graham.