The Phillies’ loss on Sunday came down to two big blows by the Texas Rangers off Jesus Luzardo and another woeful day at the plate up and down the lineup.
The Phils lost, 8-3, dropping their opening series of the season before moving onto the second leg of a six-game homestand with three against the Washington Nationals.
The loudest and most impactful hit of the afternoon was a three-run missile of a home run by Andrew McCutchen in the top of the fourth inning, breaking open what had been a two-run Rangers advantage. McCutchen got a middle-in, 97.9 mph fastball from Luzardo on a 2-2 count and turned on it, lacing it into the seats in left field.
As he crossed home plate, a Phillies fan could be heard yelling, “Cutch, you’ve got to be kidding me, you’ve got to be kidding me.” To which he replied, “I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” gesturing with his hands in the air.
“I’m sorry!” 🤷♂️
This interaction between Andrew McCutchen and a Phillies fan is priceless 🤣 https://t.co/JMGC2b2gQx pic.twitter.com/g8Q8REyzdM
— MLB (@MLB) March 29, 2026
McCutchen, of course, played for the Phillies from 2019-21 and was a fan favorite, as much for his performance as for his swagger on and off the field. He had such a promising start to his Phillies career, homering on Opening Day 2019, leading off every day and carrying a .378 on-base percentage into June, when he tore his ACL in San Diego trying to avoid a tag while in a rundown.
He played two more seasons with the Phillies and couldn’t recapture that form but has remained a league-average or slightly above-average hitter since for the Brewers, Pirates and now Rangers.
McCutchen’s home run on Sunday put the Phillies in what seemed like an insurmountable deficit given their lack of offense over the weekend. The Phils went 8-for-63 (.127) with 21 strikeouts and were out-homered 4-0 by the Rangers. They’ve had a runner in scoring position in just six of the last 16 innings and one of those was automatic with the ghost-runner at second base in extras Saturday.
Out-hit by Texas
The Rangers’ lineup had a much more potent series at Citizens Bank Park than the Phillies, with Brandon Nimmo, Corey Seager, Jake Burger, McCutchen and Kyle Higashioka each making their mark. The Phils’ top offensive contributors were Brandon Marsh and Justin Crawford, who are each 3-for-9, and Kyle Schwarber and Alec Bohm, who hit home runs on Opening Day but went a combined 2-for-16 the rest of the series.
If the Phillies’ bats had back-to-back days like this in mid-June, it wouldn’t stand out as much. But everything that happens the first weekend, first week, first month is exaggerated. The slow start for a player sticks out more than his heat-up period and the same goes for a team.
Bohm, for example, hit .160 in his first 14 games last season, and outside the organization, his worth was being questioned on a daily basis. Then he hit .302 over his next 14 games, and .354 in the next 14 games after that. But for every Phillies fan that remembers him perking up, you’ll find five that recall those first two weeks more clearly.
It’s understandable, life is all about first impressions and the Phillies’ offense hasn’t made the strongest one.