PHILADELPHIA (Interstat) — Cristopher Sánchez dominated over six scoreless innings and Alec Bohm delivered a decisive three-run homer, propelling the Philadelphia Phillies to a 5-3 victory over the Texas Rangers on Thursday afternoon in the season opener for both teams at a sold-out Citizens Bank Park.

A crowd of 44,610 watched the Phillies capitalize on early and middle-inning rallies before holding off a frantic, three-run rally by Texas in the ninth inning. The win gave Philadelphia a 1-0 start to the 2026 campaign, while the Rangers began 0-1.

The most important sequence of the game unfolded in the bottom of the fifth inning, breaking open what had been a tight pitchers’ duel. With the Phillies leading 2-0, rookie center fielder Justin Crawford led off with an infield single and Trea Turner followed with another single. After Sánchez worked out of a jam by striking out Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper, Bohm stepped to the plate with two outs. On a 1-1 offering from Rangers starter Nathan Eovaldi, Bohm launched a towering fly ball to right field that cleared the wall, scoring Crawford and Turner ahead of him. The three-run blast extended Philadelphia’s lead to 5-0 and provided crucial breathing room that would prove necessary later.

Sánchez was the story for much of the evening, utterly stifling the Texas lineup. The left-hander allowed just three hits, did not walk a batter and struck out 10, tying a career high. He threw 66 pitches, 50 for strikes, and faced only two batters over the minimum. The Rangers managed just two singles and a double against him, never advancing a runner past second base. Sánchez’s performance set a commanding tone, earning him the win and improving his record to 1-0.

Eovaldi, the veteran right-hander tasked with starting on opening day for Texas, took the loss to fall to 0-1. He was charged with all five Philadelphia runs on eight hits over 4 2/3 innings, striking out four and walking one. The damage came in two swings: Schwarber’s two-run homer in the first inning and Bohm’s three-run shot in the fifth.

Philadelphia struck immediately in the bottom of the first. Turner led off with a sharp single, and two pitches later, Schwarber connected on an Eovaldi fastball, sending it deep into the left-center field stands for a quick 2-0 advantage.

From there, Sánchez took over. The Rangers did not record a hit until Corey Seager’s one-out single in the first, and their best early chance came in the fourth when Andrew McCutchen doubled with two outs. Sánchez stranded him by getting Josh Jung to ground out.

After Bohm’s homer chased Eovaldi, the Phillies’ bullpen navigated the final innings. Jonathan Bowlan and Zach Pop each contributed a scoreless frame. In the ninth, closer Jhoan Duran entered to secure the final outs but encountered immediate trouble.

Seager led off the ninth with a single, and Jake Burger followed by hammering a line-drive, two-run homer to left-center off Duran, cutting the deficit to 5-2. Kyle Higashioka then singled, bringing the tying run to the plate. After a groundout and a strikeout, Danny Jansen drove in Higashioka with a sharp RBI single to center, making it 5-3 and bringing the potential go-ahead run to the plate in Evan Carter. Carter, however, grounded out softly to first baseman Bryce Harper on the next pitch, ending the game and giving Duran his first save of the season.

Burger was the standout for Texas, finishing 3 for 4 with the two-run homer and a single. Seager added two hits and scored twice. For Philadelphia, Turner, Crawford, and Bryson Stott each had two hits, with Schwarber and Bohm combining for all five RBIs.

The game time was 2 hours, 41 minutes. The combined score of eight runs surpassed the pregame over/under line of 8.5. According to Interstat, its game simulator had projected a 1-0 Texas victory, while its ELO system gave the Phillies a 57.4% probability to win. Philadelphia also covered the pregame spread of -1.5.

The Rangers’ relief corps of Carter Baumler, Tyler Alexander and Jalen Beeks combined for 3 1/3 scoreless innings, allowing just two hits and striking out four.

The teams will continue their opening series on Saturday. Texas will embark on a three-city road trip following the Philadelphia series, with stops in Baltimore and a homestand against Cincinnati and Seattle. The Phillies will host Texas twice more before a three-game set with Washington and then head west for series in Colorado and San Francisco.