Aug 9, 2025: Phillies rout Rangers 9-1, snapping a 10-game Texas skid. Schwarber belts No. 41; Marsh 4 hits; Turner 5 RBI as Cristopher Sánchez deals.
StatPro MLB Beat Reporter
That’s how you exorcise a ballpark. The Phillies hammered the Rangers 9-1 on Saturday in Arlington, snapping a 10-game skid in Texas that dated back to 2014. Kyle Schwarber opened the fireworks with his 41st homer in the first, Brandon Marsh stacked a four-hit night with a go-ahead blast, and Trea Turner drove in five as Cristopher Sánchez calmly dealt six strong. Philly moves to 66-49, keeping the NL East lead intact while the Mets lurk 3.5 games back.
Phillies snap a 10-game losing streak in Texas dating to 2014.
There’s been a weird Arlington hex on the Phillies since Opening Day 2014. Not anymore. Saturday’s 9-1 cruise-control win featured early thunder and late separation, plus a clean, workmanlike effort on the mound. Rangers starter Merrill Kelly couldn’t locate (five walks, four runs in 4.1 innings), and the Phillies kept stacking quality at-bats until the dam broke in the ninth with Turner’s exclamation-point three-run homer. The defense stayed sharp, the bullpen was stress-free, and the dugout energy felt like a team that knows it’s in a pennant race and just knocked down a longstanding wall.
Schwarber didn’t wait around, blasting his 41st of the year in the first. He’s now two behind MLB leader Cal Raleigh in the home run race, and his early jolt once again set the offensive tempo. For an order that’s been more contact-forward this season, Schwarber’s game-opening damage changes how pitchers sequence everyone behind him. Even the outs are getting louder, and his pace suggests the middle of August could be a nightly leaderboard watch.
Marsh went 4-for-5, started his night with a ringing double, then bent a solo shot down the right-field line for his seventh homer — the go-ahead swing in the fourth. The power tick is the headline, but the all-fields contact is the bigger story; his swing decisions are cleaner, and he’s getting to fastballs he used to foul straight back. With Austin Hays now on the IL (more on that below), Marsh’s uptick matters even more to the outfield mix and lineup balance.
Turner’s two-run double in the fourth flipped the game, and his three-run homer in the ninth turned it into a laugher. It’s the version of Turner that warps innings — gap-to-gap authority, game-speed chaos, and thunder when pitchers get behind. For the season he’s at .286/.342/.434, and nights like this are a reminder that even without a gaudy slug line, he can carry an offense with timely damage.
Six innings, one run, six strikeouts — five of them on changeups. Sánchez improved to 11-3, matching his 2024 career high in wins, and now leads MLB with 97 strikeouts on changeups. He lived arm-side all night, tunneling the change off a well-located sinker, and the Rangers never squared him up enough to threaten a crooked number. It’s ace-caliber sequencing in a rotation that’s been as steady as any in the league.
The Phillies made a flurry of moves pregame. Austin Hays hit the 10-day IL (retroactive to Aug. 8) with a left hamstring strain, so outfielder Cal Stevenson and righty Max Lazar were selected to the MLB roster. To clear space, first baseman Darick Hall and righty Max Castillo were designated for assignment, and Kolby Allard was optioned to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. Stevenson was raking in Allentown (.307 average, .907 OPS, 21 doubles), giving Rob Thomson a lefty contact bat who can run, work counts, and cover all three outfield spots in a pinch. Lazar adds fresh length for a bullpen that’s been tasked with protecting plenty of tight games. Hall leaves a footprint from 2022–2023 (10 HR in 59 MLB games) and could draw interest if he clears waivers.
At 66-49, the Phillies maintain their NL East lead with the Mets 3.5 back. August is about stacking series wins and keeping arms fresh; Saturday checked both boxes with a low-stress bullpen night and an offense that looked layered and dangerous. What to watch: Schwarber’s home run chase, Marsh’s sustained power, Turner’s timing, and how Thomson doles out outfield reps with Stevenson in the mix while Hays heals. The series in Arlington continues Sunday, and this felt like the type of win that travels.
From a tone-setting Schwarber blast to Sánchez’s surgeon-level changeups, the Phillies looked every bit like a first-place club while finally shedding their Texas baggage. With fresh legs arriving from Lehigh Valley and Turner heating up, Philly heads into Sunday with momentum — and a lineup that suddenly feels even longer.
