Phillies rally in the ninth falls short, lose to Rangers in extras 5-4

The Phillies fell 5-4 to the Rangers in 10 innings on Saturday afternoon at a frigid Citizens Bank Park.

Aaron Nola started and struck out seven over five innings while allowing three runs. Not his best but serviceable in 45-degree weather that had fastball velocity down across the board for every pitcher on both sides. The Phillies bullpen was clean after Nola came out, putting up zeros when the team needed them most.

Phillies offense was… familiar for most of the afternoon

Jacob deGrom was a late scratch with neck stiffness, which felt like a gift. The Rangers handed the ball to Jacob Latz instead, a lefty who allowed 18 hits, 16 runs, and 10 walks in Spring Training.

The Phillies managed nothing against him for four-plus hitless innings. A replacement-level starter on a cold Saturday and the Phillies could not touch him. That is the accountability portion of the recap.

The Ninth Inning

Then something remarkable happened. Down three runs, two outs, one hit in the entire game and the Rangers’ bullpen closing it out, the Phillies staged one of those rallies that makes you remember why you watch baseball in late March when it is freezing outside.

Alec Bohm dropped an 0-2 pitch into right-center for a single. Edmundo Sosa walked on a 3-2 pitch in the dirt. Garcia popped up the first pitch he saw but Rangers first baseman Jake Burger dropped it for an error.

Three pitches later Garcia hit a broken-bat double to left to score a run. Marsh then singled on a 1-2 pitch to score two more and tie the game. Three-run rally, two outs, one hit to start the inning.

Jake Burger drop leaders to Phillies rally in the 9th

CHAOS in Philadelphia as Jake Burger drops what would've been the final out. Then Adolis Garcia and Brandon Marsh tie the game! pic.twitter.com/3xr8ZIqOFQ

— Talkin' Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) March 28, 2026

A wild pitch from Jhoan Duran and a single from Andrew McCutchen give the Rangers a two-run lead in the 10th pic.twitter.com/0Na5pggbB1

— Talkin' Baseball (@TalkinBaseball_) March 28, 2026

The ABS System

The Rangers scored two in the top of the tenth on the ghost runner. The Phillies had the tying run on first with one out in the bottom half when Schwarber stepped up with a chance to change everything.

He fell behind 2-1 when Tyler Alexander threw a cutter low and away that was called a strike to make it 2-2. It was close enough that Schwarber challenged it.

The ABS system confirmed the ball clipped the zone so the challenge was denied and Schwarber lost his only challenge for the inning.

🧢 ABS CHALLENGE ❌

Kyle Schwarber challenged a called strike vs. Tyler Alexander
Rangers @ Phillies | Bot 10

Result: CONFIRMED – Batter Timeout
HP Umpire: D.J. Reyburn#MLB #ABSChallenge #AllForTX #RingTheBell pic.twitter.com/duZlP9A2Gx

— Tap The Cap (@TapTheCapMLB) March 28, 2026

The next pitch was a changeup below the zone. Schwarber was rung up on it. If he had a challenge remaining he would have won it and stayed alive in the at-bat. He did not.

Harper followed with a broken-bat single to score a run but Bohm popped out to end it.

Welcome to the ABS era where one challenge used on a coin flip pitch can end a rally before it starts. Schwarber was not wrong to challenge it.

He made the right call with the information he had. The next pitch just happened to be worse and he had nothing left to contest it with. That is baseball in 2026.

Series split. Rangers win 5-4. On to Sunday.

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