Phillies 3, Rangers 2
Roy Halladay pitched eight strong innings to lift the Philadelphia Phillies to a 3-2 victory over the visiting Texas Rangers on Friday in the opener of a three-game series.
Ben Francisco smacked a two-run homer and Raul Ibanez added a solo blast to back Halladay (6-3), who allowed two runs on six hits to snap a personal two-game losing streak. He struck out seven and walked one.
Ryan Madson worked the ninth for his eighth save as the Phillies won for only the second time in seven games.
The Rangers' C.J. Wilson (4-3) pitched exceptionally well in defeat. He surrendered three runs on four hits in seven innings, walked two and struck out 10.
Texas scratched out a run against Halladay in the first when Elvis Andrus stole home.
The Phillies erased that deficit on Francisco's blast in the second and increased the lead to 3-1 on Ibanez' shot in the fourth.
The Rangers closed within 3-2 in the eighth when Endy Chavez doubled and scored on Mitch Moreland's groundout.