Notes and Thoughts on Nola, Duran, Phillies’ Lineup in Wild Near-Comeback

The Phillies nearly stole a win from the visiting Texas Rangers on Saturday in Game 2 of 162, sending the game to extra innings after a dropped foul popup by first baseman Jake Burger with two outs in the ninth.

Adolis Garcia followed the error with an RBI double, and a Brandon Marsh single later, the game was tied. The Phillies brought the winning run to the plate in the bottom of the 10th inning but Alec Bohm popped up to end the game, evening the Phils' opening series at a game apiece.

CHAOS in Philadelphia as Jake Burger drops what would've been the final out. Then Adolis Garcia and Brandon Marsh tie the game! pic.twitter.com/3xr8ZIqOFQ
— Talkin' Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) March 28, 2026

Here are some notes, thoughts and observations:

Nola's outing

Aaron Nola pitched very well this spring, allowing one run in nine innings in the World Baseball Classic despite starting one of the games against the stacked lineup of eventual champion Venezuela. He maxed out at 94.5 mph in the tournament, a far cry from his early-season work in 2025 when he sat 89-90 his first few starts.

Nola's velo in his season debut Saturday wasn't as high as it was in the WBC and was more in line with his typical Aprils. He has averaged 91.4 mph with his fastball before May 1 and that was his average on Saturday, as well. He maxed out at 93.5.

The drop should have been expected, though, because Nola went from pitching in warm weather in Clearwater and domed stadiums in the WBC to a temperature in the low-40s Saturday with wind chill that made it feel even colder. Nola is a Louisiana boy who has always fared better in warmer weather.

He did not pitch well or poorly, allowing three runs over five innings on two home runs, a Corey Seager solo shot in the top of the first and a two-run blast by Burger in the third. Burger has homered in both games of the series.

Nola struck out seven, walked two and threw 91 pitches. His next start will be Saturday on the road against the Rockies. Coors Field is obviously not a fun place to pitch but the ball doesn't fly quite as far during the cold part of the year.

The lineup

The Phillies caught a break early Saturday afternoon when Rangers right-hander Jacob deGrom was scratched from his scheduled start with a stiff neck. Texas instead started left-hander Jacob Latz, who pitched four scoreless and hitless innings.

Despite the late pitching change, Phillies manager Rob Thomson did not adjust his lineup. The Phils will start Edmundo Sosa at second base and Otto Kemp in left field most games against lefties, sitting Bryson Stott and Brandon Marsh.

They did not do so on Saturday because they'll face another lefty Sunday in Mackenzie Gore. If Stott and Marsh didn't play Saturday, they would have had three full days off since the Phillies were idle Friday. That's not ideal so early in the season.

Stott went 0-for-2 with a walk. Thomson pinch-hit for him with Sosa with two outs and a man on first base in the ninth inning and it worked as Sosa walked and scored the tying run.

The game-tying knock came from Marsh, a two-run single to right-center off Rangers right-hander Chris Martin, who entered for lefty Robert Garcia with two outs in the ninth.

Stayin' alive 👀 pic.twitter.com/DzFs0ED5kB
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) March 28, 2026

Sosa and Kemp will almost certainly both be in the lineup Sunday. Marsh is 0-for-7 with four strikeouts against Gore and Stott is 1-for-9 with a homer and two K's.

The Phillies had just one hit with one out left in Saturday's game. They finished with a handful, going 5-for-36 (.139) as a team with 11 strikeouts.

Duran down Sunday?

Closer Jhoan Duran threw 22 pitches in the top of the 10th inning and took the loss, allowing two runs, one of them earned. After appearing twice in the first three games, Thomson may look to avoid him on Sunday. Pitching three out of four days could be viewed as a bit much right out of the gate.

If Duran is indeed down on Sunday, the Phillies have two other options to close in lefty Jose Alvarado and righty Brad Keller. Alvarado pitched a scoreless inning with two K's on Saturday, maxing out at 99 mph. Keller hasn't yet made his Phillies debut.