Aug. 9, 2025: Phillies beat the Rangers 9-1 as Trea Turner drove in five, Kyle Schwarber homered, and Brandon Marsh had four hits; Merrill Kelly struggled.
StatPro MLB Beat Reporter
The Rangers had all the makings of a comfy August home groove—eight straight wins at Globe Life Field—until the Phillies barged in and flipped the vibe. Philadelphia snapped a 10-game losing streak in Arlington dating to 2014 with a 9-1 thumping Saturday, powered by Kyle Schwarber’s first-inning blast (his 41st), a four-hit night from Brandon Marsh, and a late three-run dagger from Trea Turner, who finished with five RBIs. Texas’ lone answer was a Josh Jung RBI single in the first, while newly acquired right-hander Merrill Kelly labored through his first home start as a Ranger.
Trea Turner drove in five runs. The Rangers scored one.
Schwarber set the tone immediately, ambushing the first inning with his 41st homer to stake the Phillies to a 1-0 lead. Josh Jung briefly steadied things with an RBI single in the bottom half to make it 1-1, but the middle frames tilted toward Philly. Traffic from free passes caught up to Merrill Kelly, and the fourth inning turned pivotal: back-to-back walks opened the door, and Trea Turner hammered a two-run double to put the Phillies in front for good. From there, the lineup kept stacking pressure, Marsh kept finding grass (and later the seats), and the game drifted out of reach.
This wasn’t the unveiling Kelly wanted in front of the home crowd after arriving from Arizona at the deadline. The righty allowed four runs on five hits in 4 1/3 innings, but the headline was a season-high five walks and a hit batter. The Phillies don’t need many invitations, and the free passes turned a manageable start into constant traffic. The stuff is there; the adjustment in a new uniform has to start with strike one and conviction in the zone. One outing isn’t a referendum, but it’s a reminder that the margin for error in August shrinks fast.
Offensively, Texas never found the big swing to punch back. Jung’s first-inning RBI was it. Corey Seager stayed on the screws, going 2-for-5 to continue a steady run that has him at .263 with 16 homers and 40 RBIs, but sustained rallies just didn’t materialize against a Phillies staff that attacked and got early-count outs. Two straight home games with muted damage is a jarring change after the recent eight-game burst at Globe Life.
The Rangers’ eight-game home heater has pivoted into a two-game skid, and the Phillies—winless in Arlington since 2014—finally walked out with a W. That’s the thing about August: momentum is only as good as tomorrow’s starter. The building has been an advantage; Texas needs to reassert that edge in the rubber match.
Jacob deGrom (10-4, 2.80) gets the ball in the finale, and it comes at the perfect time. He’s allowed five runs in each of his last two starts and will look to reset the tone against Phillies lefty Jesús Luzardo. The blueprint is straightforward: deGrom establishing first-pitch strikes and length to stabilize everything, while the lineup hunts something early from the left-hander to avoid chasing the game. A crisp first inning on both sides would go a long way toward flipping this series’ rhythm.
It’s August, and the calendar stops granting grace. Saturday was a clunker—too many free passes, not enough thump. Sunday turns on Jacob deGrom’s right arm and an offense that needs to set the tone early. Split the series, reset the home-field feel, and move on.
