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The Texas Rangers have defeated the Philadelphia Phillies 4-2. The loss was their third straight. Check out the best bookmakers for betting on baseball.
Rangers’ Brad Miller hit a two-run single against his former team, with two outs after an error in the second. Kole Calhoun also scored two runs. This earned the Rangers their ninth consecutive win over the Phillies since 2014.
The Rangers led 2-0 on Miller’s single, which came from a few batters after a fielding error from first baseman Rhys Hoskins. This is before Zack Wheeler recorded his fifth strikeout to end the inning. Josh Smith raced home from the first base for the second out on a ball that was grounded not really hard into the outfield.
Miller only had one hit in his previous 17 at-bats. The hitter played in several games in 2019 with Philadelphia as well as all of the last season before signing a two-year contract with the Rangers.
While the Rangers had struck out 14 times overall, they made Wheeler throw a lot of pitches, taking advantage of an error to beat the Phillies.
“I was proud of our offense, making Wheeler throw a lot of pitches, working a lot of counts,” said Rangers manager Chris Woodward. “We actually had really quality at-bats to get those runs.”
Wheeler (6-4) experienced a loss for the first time in his last 10 starts since losing his first three starts this season after finishing second in NL Cy Young Award voting last year. While the right-hander struck out eight, he walked three and gave up four runs on seven hits on 99 pitches over 4 1/3 innings.
Meanwhile, Jon Gray (3-3), the starter on the first day for Texas, won consecutive starts for the first time this season. He struck out six and walked one while allowing two runs and four hits over 5 2/3 innings.
Prior to this match, Philadelphia lost three games in a row after winning 14 of its first 16 games under Phillies interim manager Rob Thomson, who replaced Joe Girardi.
“You have to take the same approach as we took in the first 16 games,” he said.
As the Phillies struggled in their match against the Rangers, many fans turned to Twitter to vent their frustration. One said that the Phillies were not or could not be the contenders if they lose to the Rangers. This is due to the fact that both teams have faced each other four times this season, and the Rangers won in all four games.
The Rangers totally swept the four-game season series, which marked the first time they won four games without losing to a National League team. Their nine consecutive victories are their longest streak so far.
The Phillies have been going through a tough road, yet there may be still hope. With the expanded playoffs, they may have a better chance at making the postseason for the first time since 2011—not to mention that they are still above .500.
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