PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Andrew McCutchen shrugged like Michael Jordan and offered a mock apology to a Phillies fan after he crossed the plate following his first home run with Texas.
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.
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MacKenzie Gore tormented Philadelphia at his last stop, as well. He struck out 13 Phillies in his first start last season with Washington. Gore kept up his success against the Phillies in his first start with the Rangers, taking a no-hitter into the sixth and then escaping a jam later that inning when he fanned two-time NL MVP Bryce Harper with the bases loaded in an 8-3 win on Sunday.
First homers and a fantastic first start from Gore helped the Rangers take two of three from the NL East champion Phillies.
Oh, and for those Rangers fans keeping score at home, here’s another first — the first series win under new Texas manager Skip Schumaker.
“It’s just confirmation of what we think our offense is,” Schumaker said.
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Nimmo got Texas’ offense rolling when he took Phillies starter Jesús Luzardo (0-1) deep for a two-run shot in the second.
Nimmo has 11 home runs 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 National League Division Series that lifted the Mets to a win (they also won the 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.”
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Phillies fans couldn’t quite muster the same kind of vitriol for McCutchen, long known as one of baseball’s good guys who latched on with the Rangers in spring training after a return to Pittsburgh 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 while he was in town he socialized with his Philly sports-fan friend who told him, “`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.”
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Gore is expected to be one of the key guys in Texas’ rotation after he was traded for five prospects.
He gives the 2023 World Series champions a starter who should be able to help the front end of their rotation along with Jacob deGrom — a two-time NL Cy Young Award winner who was the American League Comeback Player of the Year in 2025 — and Nathan Eovaldi, who dealt with a rotator cuff strain and had surgery for a sports hernia after compiling a 1.73 ERA in 22 starts last season.
Gore 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 fanned 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.
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“That’s a situation where we got ahead and we kind of wanted to put him away,” Gore said.
The 27-year-old Gore is 26-41 with a 4.19 ERA in four major league seasons, the past three with Washington. He was an NL All-Star last season, but he faded in the second half and ended up going 5-15 with a 4.17 ERA and a career-best 185 strikeouts in 30 appearances, all starts.
Gore has a 3.06 ERA (16 earned runs in 47 innings pitched) with 57 strikeouts 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,” he 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.”
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Harper heard boos after he struck out and 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.”
No one in the home dugout wants to get booed only three games into the season. But it was the sound of a successful series for the Rangers.
“It’s totally OK they don’t like me,” Nimmo said.
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AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
