Series Preview: Philadelphia Phillies at Texas Rangers

The Philadelphia Phillies begin the defense of their National League Pennant on Thursday afternoon in Arlington, Texas against the American League’s Texas Rangers in the first of a three-game set from GlobeLife Field. 

Here’s a look at the Phillies-Rangers Series:

When: March 30 & April 1-2

Where: GlobeLife Field in Arlington, Texas

Start Times: Game 1 & 2- 4:05 PM/EDT, Game 3- 7:08 PM/EDT

Broadcast: All games on SportsRadio 94 WIP and the Phillies Radio Network

Telecast: Game 1- NBC10, Game 2- Fox, Game 3- ESPN

Probable Pitching Matchups

Game 1: Aaron Nola (2022: 11-13, 3.25 ERA) vs. Jacob deGrom (2022 w/NYM: 5-4, 3.08 ERA)

Game 2: Zack Wheeler (2022: 12-7, 2.82 ERA ) vs. Nathan Eovaldi (2022 w/BOS: 6-3, 3.87 ERA)

Game 3: Bailey Falter (2022: 6-4, 3.86 ERA ) vs. Martin Perez (2022: 12-8, 2.89 ERA)

Series History

The Phillies and Rangers have met 19-times, Texas holds a 12-7 series lead including nine consecutive wins.  The Ranger swept the 2022 season series 4-games to none. 

The last Phillies win came on March 31, 2014. The Fightins won 14-10, Cliff Lee (5IP, 11H, 8R, 8ER, 1BB, 1K) recorded the win. The Phils had homers from Jimmy Rollins, Marlon Byrd, and Cody Asche. Rollins led the Phillies with 4 RBIs while going 1-for-6 on the day.

Notables

• Trea Turner will be making his Phillies regular season debut.  Turner slashed .391/.440/1.043 with five homers, and 11 RBIs in the 2023 World Baseball Classic. 
• Phillies starting pitcher Aaron Nola has never faced the Texas Rangers
• Texas will start two pitchers in a row who pitched elsewhere in 2022. Jacob deGrom on Thursday (NYM) and Nathan Eovaldi (BOS) on Saturday. 
• Speaking of deGrom, the former Mets ace has a 9-1 career record with a 2.17 ERA in 20 appearances against the Phillies. 
• The Rangers are predicted to finish 4th in the AL West with predictions ranging from 73-wins to 81-wins.