New Season, Same Goal: Rangers-Phillies Series Preview, March 26-29

Phillies baseball is back, folks!

After a once again disappointing end to the season, the Philadelphia Phillies are back and lock loaded and ready to kick the 2026 season off. Last season saw very similar results to the season prior. 96 wins, one more than 2024, a NL East division title, and the No. 2 seed in the National League. Unfortunately, the same results in the playoffs occurred, and the Phillies lost the NLDS in four games for the second year in a row.

It was another devastating end to the year, and heading into 2026, the team is only getting older, and the window of opportunity for a World Series is only getting smaller. So what can they do to break that streak?

Well, they’ve said goodbye to a couple of impactful players from the past four years, Ranger Suarez and Nick Castellanos, to name a few, and have brought in and promoted new players to fill their spots. They did spend some money, keeping some of their core offensive players while also bringing in new bats.

Will it be enough to make a run at the World Series, or will the window continue to shut? Well, it all starts at home against the Texas Rangers, another team trying to get back to the Fall Classic.

“Running It Back”

The Phillies struck out on any big-time free agency moves this past offseason, most notably losing the Bo Bichette sweepstakes to their rival, the New York Mets.

While they didn’t add any of the top guys, the teams did re-sign two of their big-time sluggers from the last four years, bringing back designated hitter Kyle Schwarber and catcher J.T. Realmuto. Now, many fans were upset that the Phillies were just “running it back,” with the Schwarber and Realmuto moves, but both players bring significant needs to this team.

Schwartber, coming off a historic MVP-esque season in 2025, will continue to be the big power bat in the middle of this team’s lineup. As for Realmuto, the offense may be continuing to decline, but the defense behind the plate hasn’t, and that still means the world to this Phillies team.

The Rangers are doing much of the same as the Phillies in 2026, “running it back,” as they try to salvage the remnants of their 2023 championship team. Corey Seager still leads things on offense, while youngsters Wyatt Langford and Josh Jung support him.

Old foe Brandom Nimmo joins the team after a swap trade for Marcus Semien this past offseason, and the rest of the team fills out with struggling veterans and underproven youngsters, again just like the Phillies. These two teams, who were being honest, should’ve played each other in the 2023 World Series, are on very similar paths heading into 2026 at least from an offensive standpoint.

New Faces Making Debuts

The big news coming out of the Phillies camp and into this season is the debuts of two of the franchise’s top prospects. While Andrew Painter will make his first start on Tuesday, the big one fans can see on Opening Day will be the debut of centerfield Justin Crawford.

Crawford was drafted in 2022 and quickly made his way through the minor league system. After a successful spring and with the team opting not to re-sign Harrison Bader, it was Crawford’s job to lose, and thankfully for the Phillies, he earned it, locking him in the middle of the outfield to open up the year.

READ MORE ON CRAWFORD:

Phillies Finally, Officially Find Long-Term Answer in Centerfield with Justin Crawford Promotion

As for another outfield spot, that’s been filled by one of the team’s few outside free agent moves in Adolis Garcia. Garcia is making his Phillies debut on Opening Day, funny enough, against his former team, a Rangers team in which he spent six of his first seven years in the league and helped them win their first World Series.

Garcia is expected to fill the void of one Castellanos, who the Phillies released this winter. Like Castellanos, Garcia brings power with a large strikeout rate, but the upside in power and upgrade in outfield defense will make him a perfect replacement for Castellanos.

Expensive Starting Pitchers Duels

One thing is true about all three pitching matchups: the starters are all very expensive. Cristopher Sanchez, Aaron Nola, Jesus Luzardo, Nathan Eovaldi, Jacob deGrom, and yes, in a way, even MacKenzie Gore, are some of baseball’s most valuable arms.

Sanchez and Luzardo are the newest millionaires, both agreeing to brand new extensions with the Phillies this past month, while Aaron Nola continues to cash in on his big long-term contract from a few summers ago. As for the Rangers, both Eovaldi and deGrom are currently on multi-year deals, with Eovaldi making $25 million a year, and deGrom $38.

Gore comes to Texas via a trade this offseason, where the Rangers sent five top 30 prospects to the Washington Nationals, including top prospect Gavin Fien. So while the money isn’t the expensive part, all three starters that the Phillies will see this weekend will be high-value arms, and will be quite the challenge for the Phillies’ lineup.

Game Times and Broadcasts

Thursday, March 26, 4:15 p.m. ET, NBC 10, 94.1 WIP

Saturday, March 28, 4:05 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Philadelphia+, 94.1 WIP

Sunday, March 29, 1:35 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Philadelphia, 94.1 WIP

Probable Pitching Matchups

Game 1: Cristopher Sanchez (LHP, 2025 Stats: 13-5, 2.50 ERA) vs. Nathan Eovaldi (RHP, 2025 Stats: 11-3, 1.73 ERA)

Game 2: Aaron Nola (RHP, 2025 Stats: 5-10, 6.01 ERA) vs. Jacob deGrom (RHP, 2025 Stats: 12-8, 2.97 ERA)

Game 3: Jesus Luzardo (LHP, 2025 Stats: 15-7, 3.92 ERA) vs. MacKenzie Gore (LHP, 2024 Stats: 5-15, 4.17 ERA)

By the Numbers

• Records (2025)
• Phillies: 96-66
• Rangers: 81-81

• Run Differential (2025)
• Phillies: +132
• Rangers: +79

• Runs Scored Per Game (2025)
• Phillies: 4.8
• Rangers: 4.2

• Runs Allowed Per Game (2025)
• Phillies: 4
• Rangers: 3.8

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