Phillies snap long-standing losing streak with big win over Rangers
Kyle Schwarber homered, Brandon Marsh went 4-for-5 with three extra-base hits, Trea Turner drove in five runs and Cristopher Sánchez pitched six innings of one-run ball in the Phillies’ 9-1 road win over the Rangers on Friday, snapping a long-standing losing streak to Texas.
The Phillies hadn’t won a game on the road against the Rangers since March 31, 2014, or 4,148 days ago. They took an early lead on Friday, later retook it with a three-run fourth inning and broke things open in the ninth to fuel their victory.
Schwarber launched his 41st home run of the season in the first inning. The ball was pulled down the right-field line and just stayed fair, hitting off the foul pole.
Three innings later, Marsh led off with a home run, his second extra-base hit of the ballgame after doubling to start the second inning. Marsh’s shot gave the Phillies a 2-1 lead, and a two-run double by Turner later in the frame extended that lead to 4-1. Marsh, one of the Phillies’ best players since returning from the injured list on May 3, and Turner were just getting started.
Marsh doubled again in the fifth and singled in the seventh, giving the 27-year-old the fifth four-hit game of his career; it was his second three extra-base performance. Turner smoked a three-run home run in the ninth, giving him his first long ball since June 27 and his first five-RBI game with the Phillies.
Marsh, manning center field, also made a strong read to track down a ball off the bat of Rangers catcher Kyle Higashioka to end the sixth inning, helping Sánchez finish his night with just a single run allowed.
The Phillies starter got off to a bumpy start, giving up three singles and a run in the first inning. But after that, Sánchez settled in. At one point, Sánchez retired 10 straight Rangers hitters.
Sánchez’s final line included six hits (five singles and a double), six strikeouts and one walk. With his performance, the left-hander furthered his standing as one of baseball’s top pitchers. Sánchez entered Friday with the fourth-highest wins above replacement (3.8) among qualified pitchers, per FanGraphs, in the National League, along with the third-lowest ERA (2.40), which is now 2.36 across 144 2/3 innings.
With their win plus the Mets’ loss, the Phillies (66-49) now have a 3.5-game lead in the NL East.