The Texas Rangers overcame windy conditions, an injury to ace Jacob deGrom and a late collapse to defeat the Philadelphia Phillies 5-4 in 10 innings at Citizens Bank Park on Saturday. Spot starter Jacob Latz and a resilient bullpen held the Phillies scoreless for eight innings before a ninth-inning error extended the game. Andrew McCutchen's RBI single in the 10th proved decisive in securing the first victory of the Skip Schumaker era.
PHILADELPHIA -- Swirling 18 mph winds at Citizens Bank Park challenged players from both teams before a crowd of 40,051 on Saturday afternoon. The Texas Rangers, already without ace Jacob deGrom due to neck stiffness, saw their pitching staff dominate early. Spot starter Jacob Latz, Cole Winn, Jalen Beeks and Jakob Junis combined for eight scoreless innings, allowing just one hit against the Phillies. deGrom had woken up at 8:22 a.m. ET with the stiffness and, after treatment, decided with manager Skip Schumaker and trainers not to risk his season debut. He expressed hope to pitch later on the road trip, possibly in Baltimore. Latz, who learned of his start hours before the game upon arriving at the ballpark, delivered an impressive outing after competing for a rotation spot in spring training. Schumaker praised Latz as a luxury for the team, noting his resilience after losing out to Kumar Rocker. Closer Robert Garcia recorded two quick outs in the ninth, but Alec Bohm's bloop single and a walk to pinch-hitter Edmundo Sosa set the stage for trouble. Chris Martin relieved to face Adolis García, whose first-pitch pop-up was dropped by first baseman Jake Burger in foul territory—Burger's second such error of the day amid the blustery conditions. Philadelphia capitalized with a three-run rally to tie the game. In the 10th, the Rangers scored twice off Phillies closer Jhoan Duran on a wild pitch and McCutchen's RBI single. They then held off a Phillies rally in the bottom half for the 5-4 victory. Burger, who hit a two-run homer earlier, reflected, “I think back to last year, I don't think we won this type of game last year. ... Cutch comes through big.” Schumaker added, “These guys are resilient. They have each other's backs.” deGrom, an All-Star in 2025 with a 2.97 ERA over 172 2/3 innings, made just one Cactus League start this spring.
