ARLINGTON -- This week, the Rangers have been racking up huge numbers on both sides of the ball, in two categories no team wants to dominate: walks by their pitchers and runners left on base by their hitters.
In a 9-1 loss to the Phillies on Friday night at Globe Life Field, the Rangers mixed that noxious combination again.
Newly acquired right-hander Merrill Kelly issued five of the Rangers’ season-high nine walks in a 4 1/3-inning start that he bluntly described as “not good." The Rangers had walked a then-season-high eight in the previous game, Wednesday’s 3-2 loss to the Yankees. They also left 10 men on base Friday, marking the third consecutive game with double digits in that category, a season-long stretch.
“We had some chances, had some men on base, we just couldn’t get that one more hit to keep things going ... obviously, that’s what wins ballgames for you,” manager Bruce Bochy said.
The Rangers scored on Josh Jung’s first-inning single off Phillies starter Cristopher Sánchez, but left two runners on in that frame. They stranded another runner in the second, three more in the fifth and one runner each in the sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth innings.
“You’ve got to get those timely hits, and that’s the difference in baseball games, and it’s just been missing from us here recently,” Bochy said.
For all those missed opportunities, Kelly’s second start since being acquired from Arizona at the Trade Deadline -- and first at home -- might have been the most deflating for the Rangers. He walked five batters for the first time since 2023, having walked no more than four in each of his past 40 starts.
Kelly allowed a solo home run to Kyle Schwarber in the first inning -- a towering 444-foot shot that clanked off the right-field foul pole -- and a leadoff homer to Brandon Marsh in the fourth inning. But the most frustrating part of his outing came later that inning, when he walked the Phillies’ eighth and ninth hitters and then gave up a two-run double to Trea Turner.
“Especially against a team like that, I can’t afford to be putting that many people on base,” Kelly said. “The solo homers, I can live with ... but I knew I could only walk a tightrope so long by putting that many people on base, giving that many free passes. Eventually, it ended up coming back to bite me.”
Kelly left the game with one out in the fifth, having put runners on base in all five innings he pitched in. He threw 94 pitches and 56 strikes.
“I think it was probably a mix of just overcorrecting things, I would kind of fly open, let a ball run too far arm-side and then try to overcorrect it, and then I would kind of pull it and yank it glove-side,” Kelly said. “Just kind of in-between on everything today.”
Reliever Robert Garcia took over for Kelly and made some progress after a difficult spell in which he allowed five runs (four earned) on three homers over his past three appearances. The lefty had two blown saves and two losses during that stretch, recording only four outs total.
Friday, though, Garcia showed signs of his former self -- the guy who had a 2.61 ERA in 41 1/3 innings through the end of July. While Garcia walked two and gave up a double, he battled back in both of his innings with strikeouts.
“I think he’s back on track, he showed tonight,” Bochy said. “He had a good mix going and gave us a little length, too, so he should feel good about his outing.”
The same could probably not be said for rookie Luis Curvelo, who tossed the final two innings for Texas, surrendering five earned runs on two walks and four hits, including Turner’s three-run homer in the ninth. With Jack Leiter lasting only 3 1/3 innings in Wednesday’s loss and Kelly’s early exit Friday, the Rangers’ bullpen could be thin going into the weekend.