Suarez throws 5 shutout innings, leading Phillies to fifth straight win

Suarez throws 5 shutout innings, leads Phillies to fifth straight win originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

MIAMI – When left-handed Ranger Suarez came off the injured list on Aug. 24 and threw five solid innings against the Royals, allowing one run and striking out six, the sigh of relief from the Phillies executive suite, clubhouse and bench seemed roughly equivalent to a Category 2 tropical storm off the coast of Florida.

With Taijuan Walker moving from the rotation to the bullpen and the fifth-place spot in the rotation uncertain to say the least, and Suarez in his prime, along with Cy Young Award candidate Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola and Cristopher Sanchez, the Phillies were in an enviable position heading into the final stretch and the postseason.

This sense of quiet elation lasted exactly six days.

Next up, Suarez, who was 10-1 with a 1.81 earned run average in his first 13 starts, went unbeaten through the first two innings … before being tagged for four runs on five hits, including two home runs, in the next two innings before heading to the showers.

Everyone insisted there was no physical reason why a pitcher who had been benched twice with lower back problems would lose it so quickly, so completely. So yes, the just-turned-29-year-old had something to prove when he took the mound Thursday night against the Marlins at LoanDepot Park.

And the Phillies breathed a sigh of relief. Again.

Suarez threw five shutout innings on three hits and two walks in what turned out to be a 5-2 Phillies victory. He struck out four.

There are still unanswered questions. His velocity was a bit lower, about two miles per hour on fastballs. Manager Rob Thomson lifted him after just 82 pitches, which meant the bullpen had to fill four more innings. But it was definitely a step in the right direction.

“He was throwing,” Thomson said, emphasizing the second word. “Him, Wheeler and Nola. Those guys know how to throw when they don’t have a good fastball. They know how to change speeds and get runs. I think he was using more of his secondary pitches than usual, just because he didn’t have the speed. He’s smart. He knows what he’s doing there.”

Suarez played within the 90-shot limit, which is why he came on when he did.

“I didn’t want to send him back for one hitter and I felt he was good there. Next time he can probably get to 95, almost 100.”

The manager admitted he was more than a passing interest in how Suarez would bounce back. “I was,” he said. “He shot better today than he did last time, so we’re making progress.”

Suarez was also pleased with his exit. “My breaking balls were working today, so why stop throwing them?” he said. “That’s why we’re working so hard in the meantime. To put the bad starts behind us and create new things, better things, and make them happen.

“You’re not always 100 percent on your speed. I had that and I worked on it, and it worked well and we got the results we wanted. I feel good and I think I’m moving (toward being able to throw deeper in games).”

The Phillies also turned it around, winning five straight games and 10 of their last 12, and extending their lead over the second-place Braves in the National League East to eight games while reducing their Magic Number to 15.

After winning a shortened two-game series in Toronto against the last-place Blue Jays, they picked up where they left off against the last-place Marlins in front of an announced crowd of 9,355. That’s not a typo, by the way.

They had Miami starter Adam Oller cornered early on, including loading the bases with one out in the fourth inning without scoring, but they held a 1-0 lead before finally building on a four-run advantage in the sixth inning to eliminate Oller.

Second baseman Bryson Stott is heating up again after a midseason slump. He had an RBI single in the first inning and then sparked a four-run rally in the sixth with a second-deck homer to right-center. He is 17-for-56 (.304) with three home runs in his last 17 games.

“His batting has been really good lately,” Thomson said. “He’s really working hard on his batting and every now and then he’ll get ahead and hit it high to the right. It’s nice to see him hitting the ball out of bounds.”

Said Stott: “I feel like I’m in a pretty good spot right now. For me, it’s less about feel and more about where the ball is going. If I’m using the whole area, hitting the ball to the left, that’s when I’m at my best.”

His homerun was followed by a walk to JT Realmuto and a single by Brandon Marsh, which convinced Marlins manager Skip Schumaker to field left-handed Anthony Veneziano to face left-handed Kody Clemens.

Clemens dove both runners home with a double to left. Johan Rojas reached base on an infield single, advancing Clemens, who then scored when Veneziano deflected a wild pass past catcher Nick Fortes while Rojas was in the process of stealing second base.

After that, it was pretty much over, except for the screaming. That came from behind first base as Matt Strahm was one out away from his third save of the season, and it might sound familiar.

EAGLES. . .