ARLINGTON, Texas — Zack Wheeler struck out seven and allowed three hits, Edmundo Sosa homered, and the Phillies defeated the Texas Rangers 4-2 on Sunday to sweep the three-game series.
Wheeler (10-5) had six or more strikeouts for the 19th straight start this season, with his last outing with less than six coming April 13 when he had three against St. Louis.
Trailing 2-0 early, the Phillies answered in the fourth with an RBI double from Bryce Harper. They tied it in the fifth on Sosa’s solo homer, and took the lead for good with Weston Wilson’s RBI single two batters later.
Brandon Marsh added an insurance run with a sacrifice fly that scored Harrison Bader in the ninth inning, and a strong Phillies bullpen performance was capped off by Jhoan Duran’s 20th save of the season to secure the win. Duran, acquired from Minnesota on July 30, has allowed just one baserunner in four appearances for Philadelphia.
Joc Pederson hit a first-inning two-run homer to give the Rangers the lead. Patrick Corbin (6-8) threw 4 1/3 innings and allowed four hits and three runs.
Key moment
After the Phillies went ahead 3-2 in top of the fifth, Bader protected that lead in the bottom of the inning with a leaping catch to take a home run away from Corey Seager. Bader reached above the 6-foot wall in front of the Texas bullpen in right-center to make the play.
Key stat
The Phillies are 49-2 when leading after six innings, and 57-2 when leading after seven, both MLB-best marks.
Roster Moves
The Philadelphia Phillies recalled 40-year-old reliever David Robertson from Triple-A Lehigh Valley, three weeks after he signed a free-agent deal.
Robertson made six relief appearances with Lehigh Valley, and had a 10.13 ERA, though he had four scoreless outings. He struck out six, walked one and allowed 11 hits and six runs in 5 1/3 innings.
Robertson joined the team against the Rangers, who whom he had a 3-4 record and 3.00 ERA in 68 games last season.
“To start out with I’d like to just kind of ease him in a little bit, a little lower-leverage, but we might be forced to run him out there in high-leverage, who knows,” manager Rob Thomson said.
Right-hander Alan Rangel was optioned to Triple-A to make room on the 26-man roster.
Over his 16-year major league career, Robertson, has a 2.91 ERA in 861 games. He has been to the playoffs nine times, including being part the New York Yankees’ last World Series title in 2009 and the Phillies pennant in 2022.
This is his third stint with the Phillies, first as a free agent before the 2019 season and then after being acquired in a trade from the Chicago Cubs in 2022.
“He’s a calming influence. He’s been through it before, World Series, playoff runs,” Thomson said. “I think he’s a good guy for the younger guys to kind of lean on and learn from.”
Up next
The Phillies continue their 10-game road trip in Cincinnati on Monday, where RHP Taijuan Walker (4-5, 3.53 ERA) starts opposite Reds LHP Andrew Abbott (8-2, 2.34).
Source: Berkshire mont