*Photo from the Dallas Morning News*
This lineup, this is something else. Marcus Semien homered, Mitch Garver hit two home runs and drove in 6 runs, and the Texas Rangers routed the Philadelphia Phillies with a 16-3 victory on Saturday afternoon in Arlington.
After scoring 11 runs on opening day and 16 on Saturday, the Rangers became the 7th team since 1900 to score 10 or more runs in each of the first two games of a season. Garver, behind the plate for the first time since May of 2022, was right in the middle of it with a two homer, 6 RBI game.
Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said of Garver's contributions that "It's big. Even in spring, he was trying to get his timing. He missed a lot of time and he had more than just two really good at-bats today. He's a really big part of this offense. If you can do that, hit two three-run homers, that's impressive. That was a great day."
Semien started the game with a leadoff solo homer to make it 1-0 Rangers early. Robbie Grossman added an RBI single later in the first to make it 2-0. In the 3rd inning, Nathaniel Lowe scored on a Grossman sac fly and Adolis Garcia scored on a throwing error to make the score 4-0. In the 4th, Nick Castellanos got the Phillies on the board with a two run double, making it 4-2.
In the top of the 5th, Kyle Schwarber hit an RBI groundout to give the Phillies another run and make it 4-3. Garver then hit a 3 run home run in the bottom of the inning to make the score 7-3. He followed that up with another 3 run shot in the 7th inning, making the lead 10-3. Corey Seager had a sac fly and Lowe had an RBI groundout to make the lead 12-3.
Later in the 7th, Garcia singled home Semien to make the Rangers lead double digits, a 13-3 advantage. In the 8th, Semien hit a sac fly to score Bubba Thompson and make it a 14-3 game. Lowe then hit an RBI single later in the inning to make it 15-3, followed by an RBI single from Travis Jankowski, making the final score 16-3.
Bochy said of the lineup talent that "It's a deep lineup. You look at the back end, Miller hit a home run, Smith gives you good at-bats, I mean, it's a lineup that can do damage everywhere throughout the lineup. It’s a lineup that doesn’t just depend on your core guys. That’s the way you have success on the offensive side. It’s a fun lineup to watch."
Nathan Eovaldi got his first start with the Rangers, allowing 3 runs on 6 hits, getting the win on 5 innings pitched. Dane Dunning came in for a long relief role and pitched 3 scoreless innings, with Taylor Hearn pitching the 9th to seal the win.
Zack Wheeler got shelled in his start for the Phillies, allowing 5 runs on 7 hits in 4 1/3 innings. Yunior Marte finished the 5th with two runs charged to him. Jose Alvarado pitched a scoreless 6th inning before Seranthony Dominguez allowed 6 runs without recording an out. Andrew Bellatti and Craig Kimbrel then pitched before position player Josh Harrison took the mound.
Phillies manager Rob Thomson said of having to use Harrison on the mound that "I hate it. Especially for Craig, because those are his runs. I hate doing that, but I wanted, and I explained it to him, I just wanted to make sure he was going to be available for tomorrow. He'll be better, but I hate doing that."
The series between the teams concludes on Sunday night. Martin Perez starts for the Rangers as they go for a sweep, while Bailey Falter goes for the Phillies as they aim to salvage a game at the end of the series.
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