Phillies Opposition Roadblock: Texas Rangers

The Phillies are heading into Texas with the hopes to start their season anew. They can finally stop turning every corner and see the Washington Nationals. Time to try out the new look on the rest of baseball.

We can finally say goodbye to the Nationals. It is hard to believe, but exciting that the Phillies will not see the team from Washington until after Labor Day. And by then, both teams will have an incredibly different look to them. At this point, the Phillies are looking to add some wins. While they are past a tough spot on their schedule, they still have a couple of tough teams in the way, starting with the Texas Rangers.

Anthony Rendon was 2-9 with three walks and two runs scored in the series. He came into the series a bit cooled off from the last series (five days prior) against the Phils. Rendon was quieted a bit against the Orioles but still came in with a solid .285/.371/.455 line for the young season. He did not do anything devastating over the course of the series, but the Nationals have enough fire power to withstand one of their hotter hitters not performing.

Phils Grade: B+

Gio Gonzalez has always had a way with the Phillies. When he is effectively wild or even controlling his pitches in the zone, he is tough. And Sunday afternoon, he was able to control the game for the 6.2 innings he was out there. He threw 112 pitches, walking three and striking out seven. He left with a comfortable 3-1 lead, only allowing one run on a recently awakened Tommy Joseph homer. However, as has become the norm in D.C., the bullpen could not hold the lead in the ninth inning, and the Phils would steal a win.

Phils Grade: B-