Marlins Sweep Rangers

Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images

September 21, 2025

Marlins 4, Rangers 2

ARLINGTON, Texas (Sept 21) — The Texas Rangers lost their seventh game in a row, falling to the Miami Marlins, 4–2, Sunday afternoon. Graham Pauley provided the big hit for the Marlins, winners of 10 of their last 11, as he hit an RBI triple in the seventh inning. With an off-day Monday, the Rangers host the Minnesota Twins for three, marking their final home series of the 2025 season. First pitch is scheduled for 7:05 pm Central at Globe Life Field. Right-hander Zebby Matthews (4–6, 5.97 ERA) will get the ball for the Twins, while the Rangers have yet to name a starter for the series opener as of press time.

As for the Marlins, they’ll play the final three games of their nine-game road trip with a three-game set against the Philadelphia Phillies, also beginning Tuesday, with first pitch scheduled for 6:45 pm Eastern. The Marlins haven’t announced a starting pitcher, and lefty Cristopher Sanchez (13–5, 2.66 ERA) will take the hill for the Phillies.

Scoreless Through Three

The Marlins jumped out to a 2–0 lead in the top of the fourth against right-hander Merrill Kelly. Xavier Edwards led off with a single to left and quickly swiped second for his 25th stolen base of the year. After Liam Hicks flied to left, Edwards stole his 26th bag of the season. Up next was Otto Lopez, who plated Edwards with a double to left. Two batters later, Lopez scored thanks to a line-drive single to left by Heriberto Hernandez. They extended the lead to 3–0 in the top of the fifth when Agustin Ramirez drove in Jakob Marsee with a double to left. Marsee hit a ground-rule double to left in the previous at-bat.

The Rangers fought back in the bottom of the sixth off reliever Lake Bachar. Wyatt Langford led off with a home run to left-center, his 22nd of the year. Later in the inning, Josh Jung singled up the middle, and a wild pitch by Bachar moved him to second. Jung scored, moments later, on a single to left by Cody Freeman, cutting the lead to 3–2.

The Marlins tallied an insurance run in the top of the seventh off reliever Cole Winn. Pauley led off with a triple to center, his first of the season. On deck was Brian Navarreto, who scored Pauley with a sacrifice fly to center.

What Went Right for the Marlins

Pauley’s RBI triple was big. However, there was one other thing the Marlins did right, and it was that they scored first on Sunday. They never had a huge lead, but they put pressure on the Rangers by scoring first. That makes it a challenge to win when a team does that to you, especially on your home field.

What Went Wrong for the Marlins

Even though it didn’t hurt them in the long run, Langford’s solo blast in the sixth disrupted the Marlins’ rhythm.

Tough Day for Kelly

Rangers starter Merrill Kelly drew the loss, failing to complete five innings and shouldering the defeat for the second straight start. He now owns a record of 12–9 with a 3.52 ERA. Sunday marked the second time in his career with consecutive starts of 4 1/3 or fewer frames. He has taken the loss in back-to-back outings for the first time since April 6, 2023 against the Los Angeles Dodgers and April 11, 2023 against the Milwaukee Brewers. These came during his time with the Arizona Diamondbacks.

Perez’ Afternoon

Marlins starter Eury Perez held the Rangers scoreless Sunday but did not factor into the decision as he exited after four scoreless frames. (Editor’s Note: Scoring rules require the starting pitcher to pitch at least five innings to qualify for the win.) His line was 4 IP, 2 H, 0 R, 1 BB, 9 K, 88 pitches/60 strikes. He escaped a second and third, one-out jam in the first after striking out Rowdy Tellez and inducing a groundout from Jung.

The Tellez strikeout began a string of 10 consecutive batters retired, which lasted until the fourth when Jung reached on a dropped third strike/wild pitch. Sunday marked the second time in the last four seasons for a Marlins pitcher to fan nine or more batters in a start of four or fewer innings.

Bachar recorded his eighth win of the season, all in relief, after pitching two innings. He allowed two runs, both earned, on three hits, walking one and striking out two. His record now sits at 8–2 with a 3.91 ERA.

Reliever George Soriano tossed a spotless ninth with one strikeout to notch his first save of the campaign.

Bochy’s Postgame Comments

After the game, Rangers manager Bruce Bochy tried to explain what has gone wrong over the last week. “We’ve lost a lot of momentum,” Bochy said. “We’re in a funk. Runs have been hard to come by, and that’s what happened today. I mean, those guys over there pitched great and swung the bats really well. We couldn’t get to them.

Kelly’s Postgame Comments

Kelly also expressed his frustration after the game. “I think the most frustrating part is that we clawed back so well,” he said. “We put together a lot of good games. We put ourselves in such a good position just to turn around and kind of give it away. My time here has been up and down. With how hard we fought to put us in a spot where we could really end the season on something special — to turn around and get swept in Houston, and then obviously get swept here is probably the most frustrating part.”