Rangers Take Season Opener from Phillies

Photo by Richard Rodriguez/Getty Images

March 30, 2023

Rangers 11, Phillies 7

ARLINGTON, Tex. (Mar. 30) — The Texas Rangers won their season opener against the Philadelphia Phillies by a final score of 11–7 on Thursday afternoon. Key home runs by Robbie Grossman and Brad Miller contributed to a nine-run fourth inning that came when the Rangers found themselves in an early hole. Right-hander Jacob deGrom also made his first start as a Ranger. While it wasn’t what fans hoped they would see, it didn’t sink the ship either. The Rangers and Phillies continue their three-game series on Saturday at 3:05 pm Central at Globe Life Field.

Phillies Offense

The Phillies got their offense rolling in the top of the second inning. Third baseman Alec Bohm hit a two-run home run to center field, driving in Nick Castellanos in the process. This made it 2–0 in favor of the Phillies. Their third run came one inning later thanks to a triple by Trea Turner that drove in center fielder Brandon Marsh. Turner scored moments later on a wild pitch by deGrom to make it 4–0 in favor of the Phillies.

With an inning-by-inning scoring pattern in the works, the Phillies scored their fifth run of the afternoon in the top of the fourth inning. Alec Bohm sprinted home on a double by Marsh to stretch their lead over the Rangers to 5–0. The scoring pattern continued in the top of the fifth inning, with the Rangers leading the Phillies, 9–5, at this point. Alec Bohm made it 9–6 thanks to a single to center field that brought in second baseman Bryson Stott. Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto, who had reached base with a triple in the top of the seventh, scored the Phillies seventh and final run on a groundout to Rangers second baseman Marcus Semien.

Nine-Run Frame

Nine of the Rangers’ eleven runs came in the bottom of the fourth inning. They trailed the Phillies, 5–0, when they scored their first two runs on a double to right by catcher Jonah Heim. This allowed Corey Seager and Adolis Garcia to score. Next came Grossman’s home run that plated Heim and Josh Jung with one out in the inning. This blast tied the game and gave deGrom some help.

Rangers first baseman Nathaniel Lowe was the next to contribute to their offense. With a single on a ball that rolled just out of the reach of Phillies pitcher Gregory Soto, Lowe was able to drive in Josh H. Smith to make it 6–5 Rangers. A passed ball by Soto allowed Semien, who was on third at the time, to score. It was now 7–5 Rangers. The next one to chip in was Adolis Garcia. With two outs in the bottom of the fourth inning, he drove in Seager and Lowe with a single to right. Next came a two-run homer by Brad Miller that capped off the nine-run frame.

Rangers Pitching

The Rangers’ big off-season prize, deGrom, made his first start in Arlington on Thursday. deGrom struggled through 3 2/3 innings but emerged unharmed. He allowed five earned runs in his fourth career Opening Day start.

deGrom became the first multi-time Cy Young Award-winner to start a season opener for the Rangers. deGrom allowed a career-high six extra-base hits (HR, 3 2B, 2 3B), including a two-run homer to Alec Bohm in the top of the second inning. He struck out seven and didn’t allow any walks. deGrom got a no-decision for his effort on the afternoon. Cole Ragans got the win (1–0), and Jose Leclerc recorded the save (1) for the Rangers.

Miscellaneous Notes

With rain showers moving through the Metroplex on Thursday afternoon, the roof at Globe Life Field needed to be closed after the conclusion of the third inning. The closing process was completed prior to the middle of the fourth inning. It was the first time in the facility’s brief history (est. 2020) that the roof was opened or closed mid-contest.

Brandon Marsh, Trea Turner, and J.T. Realmuto each tripled in Thursday’s Opener. It was the first time the Phillies have recorded three or more triples in a single game since 4/8/17. That instance came against the Washington Nationals (also three triples). This was also the first instance since at least 1901 for Philadelphia to record multiple triples on Opening Day, as no team had tallied 3+ triples in a season opener since the California Angels pulled the trick on 4/7/70 against the Milwaukee Brewers (also three triples).

Bruce Bochy’s Postgame Comments

New Rangers manager Bruce Bochy was in a particularly good mood after this win over the Phillies. He discussed deGrom by saying, “He probably wasn’t quite as sharp today as he usually is, it’s fair to say, but he had some bad luck too. But the guys rallied, and what an inning. They just had some great at-bats in that inning, especially in the opener. It was so exciting out there”.

Jacob deGrom’s Postgame Comments

It wasn’t the outing that Jacob deGrom hoped for in his Rangers debut against the Phillies, but he was in good spirits after the game. When asked about the bad luck that he had, deGrom replied, “I didn’t make some pitches when I needed to, obviously. I’m not thrilled with how I threw the ball, but the guys did a good job there in the bottom of the fourth. They put up (nine) runs and then continued that. So, my outing, I’m not thrilled with it. I didn’t make pitches when I needed to, but the important thing is we got a win.”