The Good and Not So Good from Rangers-Phillies Series: Offense Falters Again

The Texas Rangers found themselves being swept by the Philadelphia Phillies this weekend. Here is the good and the not-so-good.

Aug 10, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Texas Rangers starting pitcher Patrick Corbin (46) reacts before leaving during the fifth inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Globe Life Field. | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

The Texas Rangers are not in a position where they can get swept and remain a part of the playoff race. Yet, that’s where the Rangers ended up after their three-game series with the Philadelphia Phillies ended on Sunday.

The Rangers (60-59) fell in all three games and failed to score more than two runs in any of those games. In fact, Texas has scored two or fewer runs in the last five games and is 1-4. The Rangers scored five runs in the series. Four of those runs were in the first innings of the three games.

The Phillies (68-49) have built a 5.5-game lead over the New York Mets as Philadelphia got hot at the right time and the Mets, well, the Mets lost nine out of 10. It almost feels like the National League East race is done. The same could be said about the Rangers’ playoff chances.

Now that Texas is preparing to host Arizona on Monday, here are some of the good and not-so-good things that came out of the Phillies series.

THE GOOD

1. Best Defense

Insane concentration. #AllForTX pic.twitter.com/ouDV6mvSGE

— Texas Rangers (@Rangers) August 10, 2025

Much can be said about this Rangers season. But one can’t fault the defense.

Back-to-back incredible catches by Wyatt Langford and Adolis García in the second inning of Sunday’s game underscored just how great the defense has been all year.

Defense has been part of Texas’ formula all season. Entering Sunday’s game, the Rangers led Major League Baseball in errorless games with 88 this season. Texas made it 89 even with the loss to the Phillies. As a team, the Rangers have a fielding percentage of .991 which is best in baseball. Plus, Texas leads MLB with 71 defensive runs saved.

The little things managers talk about his pitching and defense. Those are two things the Rangers can clearly do this season.

2. deGrom Back in Order

Aug 9, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Texas Rangers pitcher Jacob deGrom (48) throws to the plate during the first inning against the Philadelphia Phillies at Globe Life Field. | Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images

Jacob deGrom really wanted you to believe Saturday night’s 3-1 loss was his fault. He blamed himself several times. He was not in a good mood. He put the weight of the game on his shoulders, something manager Bruce Bochy talked about on Sunday.

“[I] just didn’t execute in the spot that I needed to,” deGrom said. “So that one’s tough. Yeah, I’m pretty frustrated.”

He was referring to the two RBI double he gave up to Max Kepler in the seventh inning, one that gave Philly a 2-1 lead. The Rangers ultimately lost, 3-2, sending them to their second straight loss in the series.

The former Cy Young winner should feel encouraged by how he pitched on Saturday. After giving up 11 earned runs in three previous starts, he only allowed three in seven innings. He struck out eight and walked one.

deGrom made one mistake pitch. It was costly, but it was just one after a few starts in which he wasn’t getting away with multiple mistake pitches. He did more than enough to keep the Rangers in the game. The reality is he wasn’t the reason Texas didn’t win the game. That fell on the offense.

3. Rowdy Tellez, Hit Maker

Aug 5, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Texas Rangers first baseman Rowdy Tellez (44) hits a two-run single during the eighth inning against the New York Yankees at Globe Life Field. | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

When the Rangers signed Rowdy Tellez and sent him to Triple-A, he was on stand-by. When Jake Burger was hurt, he was called up. When Burger returned, the Rangers kept Tellez. The decision was, curious.

He’s limited to first base, DH and pinch-hit duty. He’s only going to hit against right-handers. So, he only started in one game this series. But it works. There’s a good reason why, too. All he does is hit.

After he went 1-for-2 on Sunday he had hit safely in nine straight starts and was batting .370 in those games. For an offense that is struggling in so many areas, keeping Tellez with the Major League club and that average was a no-brainer.

THE NOT SO GOOD

1. Desperately Seeking that ‘One’ Hit

Jun 19, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Texas Rangers manager Bruce Bochy (15) looks on during the second inning against the Kansas City Royals at Globe Life Field. | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

The Rangers had chances in their losses on Friday and Saturday. In fact, they had significant chances. But their bats let them down on both occasions and, in hindsight, those where the chances they had to capitalize on.

On Friday, the Rangers loaded the bases on Phillies starter Cristopher Sanchez with Texas down, 4-1. But Wyatt Langford flew out to end the inning. It was Texas’ only legitimate chance to get back in the game after falling behind.

On Saturday, Texas took a 1-0 lead on three straight singles with one out. The Rangers had Josh Jung and Adolis Garcia queued up. Both flew out. Another missed opportunity and Texas didn’t score again until a solo Corey Seager home run in the eighth inning that cut the Phillies lead to the eventual 3-2 final score.

It wasn’t hard to find the hint of frustration from manager Bruce Bochy on Saturday night in post-game. The frustration was more about the execution than the effort in those situations. It’s that one last hit that turns an inning into a crooked number that this offense has missed most of the year.

“We couldn’t get them in there, and we have the right guys up,” Bochy said. “So, you know, they’re battling up there, trust me. It’s frustrating for all of us.”

2. The Lefty Conundrum

The Texas Rangers haven’t hit the baseball well this year. But at least their splits against right-handers are better. That’s what the Rangers designed their offense to do this year — slug against right-handed pitching. Based on recent history, Texas faces right-handed pitchers roughly four out of every five at-bats.

But their work against left-handed pitching has been especially atrocious this year. As a team they’ve slashed .227/.286/.352 with 31 home runs and 115 RBI in 1,117 at-bats. For contrast, Texas had 2,821 at-bats against right-handed pitchers.

The Phillies did the Rangers dirty in the series, starting left-handers Cristopher Sanchez and Jesus Luzardo in back-to-back games. It was also smart by manager Rob Thomson. It rendered three left-handed hitters — Josh Smith, Joc Pederson and Rowdy Tellez — useless until Sunday against right-hander Zack Wheeler, aside from pinch-hitting duty.

It’s probably not going to get better. Teams would be wise to stake their lefties against Texas the rest of the season. The problem? Most teams don’t have two talented lefties. So, the Rangers catch a break with the Diamondbacks, as they expect to start three straight right-handers.

3. Wilting in August

The Rangers came out of the All-Star Break like a rocket. They went 8-1 on a nine-game homestand. Everything finally started to click. At one point they were tied for the final wild card berth. Even the 2-5 road trip to the Los Angeles Angels and the Seattle Mariners didn’t do too much damage.

Now is a different story. The Rangers are 3-6 so far in August and have lost the last four games. Texas is now 6.5 games behind the Houston Astros in the American League West, far enough back to make a rally to win the division almost ridiculous to contemplate. The only saving grace is the Rangers have six games left with the Astros. But Texas needs them all.

The AL Wild Card is attainable. But the Rangers are 2.5 games out of the final spot. Their malaise has put them 3.5 games behind the Mariners, who have the top wild card spot. The Cleveland Guardians, who are ahead of the Rangers as the first team out, have won eight of their last 10.

It feels like it’s slipping away, and the Rangers can’t seem to do anything about it.