PHILADELPHIA — Andrew McCutchen shrugged and offered a mock apology to a Phillies fan after he crossed the plate following his first home run with the Texas Rangers.
Brandon Nimmo went deep, too — his first home run since he was traded to the Rangers only further flamed anger in the Phillies fans who voraciously booed the former New York Mets rival from his first at-bat of the three-game series to the last.
MacKenzie Gore, who struck out 13 Phillies in his first start last season with Washington, kept up that success in his first start with Texas on Sunday, taking a no-hitter into the sixth en route to an 8-3 victory Sunday.
First homers and a fantastic first start from Gore helped the Rangers take two of three from the defending National League East champion Phillies.
“It’s just confirmation of what we think our offense is,” new Rangers manager Skip Schumaker said.
Nimmo got Texas’ offense rolling when he took Phillies starter Jesus Luzardo (0-1) deep for a two-run shot in the second. It was his 11th home run at Citizens Bank Park, his most in any visiting ballpark.
He has 16 career homers against the Phillies, and their fans couldn’t forget his go-ahead single in Game 1 of the 2024 NL Division Series.
Phillies fans erupted in boos when Nimmo was introduced on Opening Day, and they never let up over the three games.
“I hear the boos when I go up there,” Nimmo said with a smile. “It’s part of baseball. Part of baseball in the Northeast. It’s good to know they still remember me. Even though they don’t like me, I appreciate their passion for their team and the game. It’s been a great atmosphere to play here.”
It wasn’t quite the same greeting for McCutchen, long known as one of baseball’s good guys who latched on with the Rangers in spring training after a return to the Pirates failed to materialize.
McCutchen, who spent one season with the Phillies and was friendly with the trash-talking fan, hit a three-run homer in the fourth for a 5-0 lead. McCutchen also had an RBI single in the 10th inning a day earlier in the Rangers’ 5-3 win.
McCutchen said his Philly friend told him to “stop hurting us.”
“I was like, ‘No, dude, I can’t do that, I’m sorry,'” McCutchen said with a laugh. “When I hit the homer, he was looking right at me. I was like, ‘Dude, I’m not sorry.’ It’s a good exchange between me and him, but he’s one of my guys.”
Gore is expected to be one of the key guys in Texas’ rotation after he was traded for five prospects.
He struck out seven and tossed five hitless innings before his bid for Texas’ first no-hitter since Kenny Rogers threw a perfect game in 1994 was broken up by a leadoff infield single from Justin Crawford in the sixth.
The left-hander struck out two-time National League MVP Bryce Harper with the bases loaded in the sixth and left the game after he plunked Alec Bohm with a pitch to make it 6-1.
Harper heard boos, too, after he struck out. He hit .091 with one RBI, one run and two walks in the opening series.
“Not the start we wanted to have [this] weekend,” Harper said, “but we’ll get there.”
Gore, 27, has a 3.06 ERA and 57 strikeouts over 47 innings across his last eight starts against the Phillies since the beginning of the 2024 season.
“I don’t necessarily know if anybody is a great matchup against that lineup,” Gore said. “I think I just really understand what they’re capable of doing. I know I kind of have to be at my best to have success against them.”
