ARLINGTON — On a night that appeared set up well for the Rangers’ newest, biggest pitching acquisition to shine, instead it was the other guy who stole the show.
Rangers RHP Merrill Kelly made his first start in Arlington after being acquired by Texas from Arizona at the trade deadline for a trio of pitching prospects. Kelly made his Rangers debut last week in Seattle, a game where he allowed just two runs over 5 1/3 innings in Rangers win.
On Friday, though, Texas ran into the buzzsaw that was Philadelphia ace Christopher Sanchez, while Kelly was worked over by an experienced, patient Phillies lineup en route to a 9-1 loss.
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“Not good,” Kelly said simply when asked to sum up his performance. “Against a team like that I can’t afford to be putting that many people on base. … At the end of the day, the solo homers I can live with, but I can only walk a tightrope so long putting that many people on base, giving that many free passes. Eventually it ended up coming back to bite me.”
Philadelphia Phillies designated hitter Kyle Schwarber, left, gestures while running the bases after hitting a solo home run off the right field foul pole off Texas Rangers pitcher Merrill Kelly (23) during the first inning of a baseball game Friday, Aug. 8, 2025, in Arlington, Texas. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Julio Cortez / AP
It took Kelly 94 pitches to get through 4 1/3 innings vs. Philadelphia, and his five walks are the most he’s given up in a game since September of 2023. He allowed two home runs, including a fourth-inning solo shot by Brandon Marsh that was followed shortly after by a Trea Turner two-run double to expand the Phillies’ lead to 4-1. Kelly didn’t make it through the fifth.
The first strike came early, when Kelly allowed a first-inning homer to Philadelphia’s Kyle Schwarber that was off the bat at 115.4 mph and clanged off the right field foul pole. Kelly also hit Bryce Harper and walked JT Realmuto during the 21-pitch first inning.
His counterpart, meanwhile, shut down the Rangers’ offense to the tune of one run on six hits over six innings. The Philadelphia offense poured it on with a five-run ninth inning to blow the game open and provide the lopsided score.
“Merrill, he just wasn’t as sharp as he was the previous game,” manager Bruce Bochy said after the game. “Might’ve been out of rhythm, missing pitches caught up with him. … Walks caught up with us too.”
Kelly says the hectic week-plus since he arrived in Texas wasn’t, or shouldn’t have been, a factor. Kelly has traveled from Arizona to Sacramento to Seattle then back to Arlington since he was acquired on July 31.
“I’m not gonna say it helps,” Kelly said of the adjustment. “But at the end of the day, when the lights turn on and you cross the lines, it’s still baseball.”
It likely wasn’t the setting, either. Friday was Kelly’s first home start with Texas, but the third time he’s taken the mound at Globe Life Field. The last time was when he outdueled Jordan Montgomery in Game 2 of the 2023 World Series, the only game the Arizona Diamondbacks won against the world champion 2023 Rangers. Kelly threw seven innings of one-run ball that night. He also pitched in an empty GLF during the COVID-impacted 2020 season, again allowing just one run over 7 2/3 innings pitched.
Kelly, Bochy and the Rangers hope, and expect, that it’s just a blip. His ERA rose to 3.38 for the season, still third-best among the Rangers’ healthy starters behind Nathan Eovaldi and Jacob deGrom.
He won’t have to wait long to try and redeem his rocky home debut — and the next one will bring with it even more intrigue. Kelly’s next start is slated for next Wednesday at home against his former team, the Diamondbacks, with whom he spent the first seven years of his major league career.
Kelly says he’ll prepare to face his former team just like he would for any other start.
“I’m gonna go about it the same way,” Kelly said. “Obviously I have a feel for what those guys do well and what they don’t, just from watching them for so long. It’s gonna be a little bit of a strange day, just because those guys have been my battle-mates for seven years, now I’m on the opposite side of the field. So it’ll be a little strange, but at the end of the day, I still have to execute pitches no matter what jersey they’re wearing.”
Twitter: @coylio33
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