Default start time for Phillies home games will revert to 6:40 in 2026

The Phillies are getting out of the 6:45 business. 

After starting their home games at 6:45 ET in 2025, the Phillies will switch back to 6:40 in 2026: 

The Phillies just released their Home Game times for the 2026 season.

Opening day against the Texas Rangers will be at 3:05pm.

The majority of Home Night Games will shift to 6:40pm. pic.twitter.com/nbAfLmXBqr

— Phillies Tailgate (@PhilsTailgate) November 3, 2025

In 2022, the Phillies moved Monday-Thursday games played at Citizens Bank Park in April, May and September to 6:45 start times, after years of 7:05 being the default start time for all games. In 2023, the Phillies moved the default start time for all evening games to 6:40 before switching to 6:45 this past season. 

There's not much of a difference between starting the game at 6:40 and 6:45, quite frankly.  

A 6:40 start time is quite different from the 7:05 start time, though. There continue to be many who would like the Phillies to return to the 7:05 start time, arguing that the extra half hour allows them to get to the park or a TV in time for first pitch. When the Phillies initially started to experiment with the earlier start time in 2022, it was before the pitch clock. The average game time in 2022 was three hours and six minutes, as opposed to two hours and 40 minutes in 2025. Those in favor of going back to 7:05 say that the pitch clock has made the earlier start time unnecessary. 

The flip side of that is while some may have trouble getting to the park or a TV for first pitch, more people can see the last pitch the earlier the game ends. Additional fans could be inclined to attend a game on a school or work night — particularly if they live outside of the city — if they believe they'll be able to get out of the sports complex and home at a reasonable time. More kids and/or adults that have to get up early the day after a game can see the end of the game on TV if that end is at 9:20, as opposed to 9:45. Those are the advantages of the 6:40 time. 

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