Quiet offense spoils Falter’s start as Phillies get swept in Texas

Final: Rangers 2, Phillies 1

After being outmatched in two slugfests to begin the season, the Phillies pitching settled in on Sunday night. Philadelphia’s offense, on the other hand, couldn’t step up to avoid the sweep at Texas’ Globe Life Field.

Left-hander Bailey Falter — making his first appearance since he couldn’t get out of the first inning in Game 4 of last year’s National League Championship Series — was solid in his season debut, scattering two runs and seven hits across 5 1/3 innings for the Phils. But Rangers starter Martín Pérez was slightly better as he allowed one run in 5 2/3 innings to win the third straight for the Rangers.

Allowing some hard contact early, Falter limited the damage to a solo home run by Josh Jung in the second inning before a Marcus Semien RBI single put Texas ahead 2-1 in the fifth as he was thrown out to end the inning.

The Phillies (0-3) briefly knotted the game 1-1 as a run scored on a Josh Harrison ground-ball double play in the fourth. But once the Rangers went back on top, the bats went silent as relievers Brock Burke, Jonathan Hernández and Will Smith shut out Philadelphia to follow Pérez.

Shibe Vintage Sports Notes

• The Phillies are 0-3 to start a season for the first time since 2016.
• It was a brutal Phillies debut at the plate for center fielder Cristian Pache, who came up to bat in key spots in the second and fourth innings. He stranded six runners in three at-bats before Darick Hall pinch hit for him in the ninth.

Ticket IQ Next Game

• Monday, April 3 vs. New York Yankees at Yankee Stadium
• 7:05 p.m.
• TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia
• Radio: SportsRadio 94WIP

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