There’s no question that the Texas Rangers have struggled against left-handed pitching this season.

Despite having hit .299 in their last six games against lefties, the Rangers are still 26th in baseball with a .226 average against southpaws.

Combine that with the fact that the Philadelphia Phillies opened up a three-game set against Texas with left-handed star Christopher Sanchez on the mound, and it wouldn’t be tough to see that the Rangers could be in some trouble.

Unfortunately for Texas, those frustrations came to be a reality as Sanchez shut the Rangers down and the Phillies ran away with a 9-1 series-opening victory at Globe Life Field on Friday night.

At first, it looked like Texas would be able to put up a fight against the Phillies’ star pitcher.

Following Philadelphia jumping out to a 1-0 lead in the first, the Rangers responded instantly in the bottom half of the inning with three singles, including a shot off the bat of Josh Jung that allowed Corey Seager to score and tie the game.

However, after that, the Rangers could not cash in on a couple more good looks against Sanchez, including a bases-loaded opportunity for Wyatt Langford, who just missed a ball that resulted in a fly out with the bases loaded to end the 5th, and a line out by Kyle Higashioka with a runner in scoring position in the 6th.

“I think we threw out some good at-bats,” Rangers manager Bruce Bochy said. “They scored and we came right back and tied the game, had some good at-bats mixed in with some tough ones. You’ve got your hands full when you’re facing the other team’s elite pitching”.

Sanchez would finish with six strong innings, allowing just the one run. After his departure, the Rangers would see three different Phillies relievers, but still were unable to muster any offense.

Merrill Kelly opposed Sanchez to make his Rangers home debut, but it did not go the way he wanted as he struggled with command, going 4.1 innings, allowing five hits and four runs while walking five Phillies hitters.

“Not good,” Kelly said after the game. “Five walks is definitely uncharacteristic for me, especially against a team like that. I can’t afford to be all over the place.