The Philadelphia Phillies (0-0) and Texas Rangers (0-0) will be trying to kick off their season with a win when they play the first game of their three-game interleague series on Thursday afternoon. The Phillies finished the 2022 season with an 87-75 record, but they made it to the World Series where they lost to the Houston Astros. The Rangers finished the 2022 season with a 68-94 record, finishing fourth in the AL West standings.
Aaron Nola will get the start for the Phillies. He was 11-13 with a 3.25 ERA last season. Jacob deGrom will get the start for the Rangers. He was 5-4 with a 3.08 ERA with the Mets last season.
Texas is 9-1 in its last 10 games against Philadelphia.
The Phillies finished third in the NL East last season, but they managed to knock off the division-winning Atlanta Braves en route to an appearance in the World Series, where they lost to the Houston Astros. They spent a lot of money upgrading their roster in the offseason, and they’re hoping they have enough talent to challenge the Braves and the dangerous New York Mets for the NL East title this season.
Philadelphia averaged 4.59 runs per game last season. Their .253 batting average was eighth in the league. Their .317 on base percentage was 11th in the league, while their .422 slugging percentage was sixth.
Bryce Harper led the Phillies with a .286 batting average, while Kyle Schwarber led the team with 46 home runs and 94 RBI.
Harper is expected to miss the early part of the season as he recovers from reconstructive right elbow surg ery. Rhys Hoskins is out for the season with an ACL injury.
Philadelphia played well defensively last season, giving up 4.15 runs per game, which was 12th in the league, and will need to play well again this season if they want to win their division.
The Phillies lost RHP Kyle Gibson, RHP Noah Syndergaard, RHP Zach Eflin, LHP Brad Hand, and RHP David Robertson. They signed SS Trea Turner (11 years, $300 million), RHP Taijuan Walker (four years, $72 million), LHP Matt Strahm (two years, $15 million), and RHP Craig Kimbrel (one year, $10 million).
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