Nathaniel Lowe and Jonah Heim connected on back-to-back home runs in the fifth inning, and Marcus Semien and Kole Calhoun each belted two-run homers in the eighth to power the Texas Rangers to a 7-0 win over the Philadelphia Phillies on Wednesday night in Arlington, Texas.
Martin Perez (5-2) tossed six shutout innings and lowered his ERA from 2.10 to 1.96. Perez, Matt Bush, Dennis Santana and Brock Burke combined for Texas’ fifth shutout.
The Rangers broke the game open with a four-run eighth inning. Semien and Calhoun each went deep off Jeurys Familia.
The Phillies, 15-4 in June, have now lost successive games for the first time since dropping five straight from May 27-31. Limited to six hits, the Phillies also were shut out for the first time since falling 2-0 at San Diego on May 19.
Kyle Gibson (4-3), who was dealt to the Phillies from the Rangers last July, was charged with three runs in 6 1/3 innings.
In the sixth inning, Perez received a big boost from his defense. Protecting a two-run lead, Perez gave up a single to J.T. Realmuto. Alec Bohm singled with one out, advancing runners to first and second. Matt Vierling then laced a sinking line drive to left field that was snared by a diving Calhoun. The catch saved at least one run, and Perez promptly retired Johan Camargo on a fly ball to center field to end the threat.
Lowe and Heim put the Rangers on the board in the fifth inning. They both now have nine homers.
Heim previously had caught Gibson, when the Phillies right-hander was with the Rangers. In his previous at-bat, leading off the third inning, Heim engaged in a 12-pitch showdown with Gibson before striking out.
The Rangers made it 3-0 in the sixth inning. Semien doubled and scored on Corey Seager’s RBI single.
Phillies left fielder Kyle Schwarber led off the game with a bunt single that extended his streak of reaching base to 25 games, the longest active string in the major leagues.
–Field Level Media
