Long Time Since Texas Rangers Claimed Opening-Series Sweep
ARLINGTON, Texas — On a night meant to showcase the National League champion Philadelphia Phillies on ESPN, the Texas Rangers crashed the party.
Texas did so with a 2-1 gem of a victory, a stark contrast to the pair of slug fests that marked the first two wins over the Phillies.
The series sweep left the Rangers 3-0 record and one of three undefeated teams in Major League Baseball heading into Monday, along with the Minnesota Twins and Tampa Bay Rays.
When the Rangers host the Baltimore Orioles starting Monday at Globe Life Field. But Texas wrapped up a sweep of a season-opening series (three games or more) for just the seventh time ever and first time since 2011 against the Boston Red Sox.
The Rangers have also beaten the Phillies 14 straight times dating back to 2014.
“The whole weekend we executed so well,” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said Sunday. “Defensively, you saw it tonight, great plays, key double plays and a really great catch in center and right. We just did a lot of good things.”
After piling 27 runs on the Phillies in the first two games, the Rangers had to win a game in which both teams combined for 19 hits but stranded a combined 12 baserunners.
Marcus Semien was the difference offensively. He went 2-for-4 and drove in the deciding run fifth inning to break a 1-1 tie. Semien plated Mitch Garver, who earlier singled.
Garver was in the designated hitter spot after hitting two three-run home runs in Saturday's 16-3 win.
Corey Seager also had two hits for the Rangers.
Martín Pérez earned his first win of the season but had to work out of several jams to claim it. He nearly became the first Rangers starter to pitch six full innings, but he fell one out short after a Bryson Stott single with two outs in the sixth.
He ended up with a solid outing. The lefty negotiated eight hits and three walks while only giving up one run, which came in the fourth on Josh Harrison’s double-play groundout that scored Nick Castellanos. Pérez also struck out seven and threw 98 pitches.
“I think we’re all on the same page, certainly from my side as a pitcher,” Pérez said. “I think we all know what we need to do, and I think that’s really important to us as a team.”
Semien’s RBI single put Pérez in line for the win. The bullpen helped him hang onto it.
Pérez handed the ball to another left-hander, Brock Burke. With two runners on and two out in the sixth, Burke threw one pitch to Cristian Pache, who popped it into foul territory where Rangers first baseman Nathaniel Lowe caught the ball at the railing.
Jonathan Hernández bailed out Burke in the seventh. After Burke retired Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber singled. With Burke having pitched to the minimum three hitters, Bochy turned to Hernández to pitch to J.T. Realmuto. Again, all it took was one pitch for Realmuto to hit into a 6-4-3 double play to end the inning.
Will Smith worked a perfect ninth in his first Texas appearance and claimed the season’s first save.
Josh Jung, along with a couple of quality defensive plays at third base, hit his first home run of 2023. His solo shot in the second came off Phillies starter Bailey Falter. While Jung was hitting, Phillies shortstop Trea Turner was giving an on-field interview with ESPN and said “oh no” when as the ball left the yard.
Pérez and the Rangers pitching staff benefited from other defensive plays, too. Center fielder Adolis García robbed Schwarber of a home run in the fifth inning. García made another fine grab in the eighth once he moved to right, running down a line drive by the Alec Bohm while running into the wall.
More From SI’s Inside The Rangers:
- Texas Rangers MVP in 2023?
- Predicting Texas Rangers 2023 Record
- Jose Altuve Injury Potentially Helps Texas Rangers Playoff Chances
- MLB Plan for Television Texas Rangers
- Why did Bochy Tab deGrom for Opening Day?
- Bally Sports Southwest to Televise Nearly All Rangers Games
- Texas Rangers to Wear Nike City Connect Jerseys for First Time
- Texas Rangers Unveil Exciting New Ballpark Food
- Rangers Believe They're as Good as Astros, Dodgers
- Rangers Rotation Set Behind Jacob deGrom
You can find Matthew Postins on Twitter @PostinsPostcard
Catch up with Inside the Rangers on Facebook and Twitter.
