‘Vintage Ranger': Phillies' Suárez is back to deceiving hitters after early IL stint
PHILADELPHIA — Ranger Suárez looked to the sky, to the Citizens Bank Park stands as he walked off the field.
A standing ovation lay before him and, behind him, two runners on base stranded and 94 pitches out of his hand. All woven together across seven scoreless innings against the Toronto Blue Jays on a breezy Friday in June.
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Suárez was far removed from spring training, which he finished with a sore lower back and an injured list designation. Far removed from his first outing on May 4, which could really be considered his spring training — a seven-run affair in which the Arizona Diamondbacks ran all over him in the third and fourth innings.
He has breathed easier on the walks to the dugout since, reaching at least six innings in his seven other outings. His ERA since May 10, when he made his second start, sits at 1.16 — second-best in MLB, trailing only Pittsburgh Pirates ace Paul Skenes (0.76).
Seven straight quality starts for Mr. Rager pic.twitter.com/KDbr0NVGXV
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) June 14, 2025
On Friday, he deceived hitters, threw seven scoreless and escaped his only bit of trouble in his final inning as the Phillies went on to win 8-0.
'I mean, pinpoint control, a lot of strikes, all the stuff was good,' Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. 'Changeup had a lot of depth to it. Breaking ball had a lot of depth to it. He just keeps people off balance.'
Seemingly a laundry list of accomplishments. But Suárez had all of it in his wheelhouse Friday, and has had much of it this season and in recent seasons as a starter.
The six-pitch mix keeps hitters on their toes. His hard-hit rate is the lowest of his career, as he gave up no extra-base hits Friday. His exit velocity is among the lowest he's had. His slider, used sparingly, has a putaway rate above 38 percent and, on Friday, left Addison Barger looking on a strikeout in the second. The sinker, which has a 20.5 percent putaway rate, caught two Blue Jays looking at strike three in the fifth.
But his health, Suárez said, has been most important.
'I know what I'm capable of when I'm healthy,' Suárez said through a team interpreter. 'I know I'm capable of great things.'
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Like working into the seventh, when he threw his two hardest pitches of the night: a 92.6 mph fastball to Barger for a foul, then a 92.2 mph sinker to Davis Schneider for ball four. That walk put two runners on base against Suárez for the first time, and effectively extinguished his goal of reaching the eighth.
'I did want to get out of that inning as quick as possible to see if I could help in going out to pitch the eighth as well,' Suárez said. 'I always give it 100 percent, but I did have that extra motivation. That's what ticked it up a bit.'
It would have been a help, sure. But missing that one inning wasn't a detriment. Suárez has pitched more innings than any other Phillies starter since May 10 (46 2/3). The next closest is Cristopher Sánchez at 35 1/3.
Zack Wheeler had a rare off night against the Atlanta Braves on May 29, allowing six runs and walking four. Jesús Luzardo likely tipped his pitches during his short, historically bad May 31 and June 5 starts, giving up 20 runs across the two.
Suárez, however, has been steady. A pair of runs allowed here or there, but nothing like that first outing when he didn't execute. Now, he's back to fooling hitters with good stuff — 'vintage Ranger,' shortstop Trea Turner said. That's good news for Suárez, an impending free agent.
And it's just what a taxed bullpen needs. As the Phillies rework and rethink their bullpen following José Alvarado's 80-game PED suspension and more usage, Suárez's outings have provided a breather. That was the case Friday, when the Phillies only needed to turn to Joe Ross and Taijuan Walker for the eighth and ninth, respectively.
Suárez, a reliever turned starter, will not return to the bullpen anytime soon. His poise and stuff have earned him a spot in the rotation, and the Phillies, barring injuries, do not anticipate changes to the rotation in the near future. Aaron Nola is out for at least two more weeks, if not longer, with a stress fracture in his right ribs, though he said Friday his injured ankle is feeling better. Mick Abel has stepped up in his place. Walker has accepted a bullpen assignment.
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The season started with a whimper for Suárez. After the game, he did not want to think back to the injury, to missing most of spring training. It's all about being in the moment. And he had a lot to think about from Friday's start, anyways.
'The cutter did a great job today — changeup, sinker, too,' he said. 'It's a mix of all those things, staying down in the zone, mixing all your pitches and just going at it.'
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