PHOENIX — It’s ironic — and cruel — that just as the Phillies' starting pitching is beginning to settle in, their bullpen is doing the opposite. But it is their reality right now. Since June 1, the Phillies bullpen has pitched to a 5.27 ERA. Over that span, their starters have pitched to a 3.09 ERA.
This trend came to bite them on Wednesday night in the Phillies’ 4-3 win. After Ranger Suárez gave them his best start of the season — tossing seven shutout innings — Seranthony Domínguez took the mound in the eighth. He hasn’t looked as sharp of late. Dominguez threw just 10 strikeouts (of 19 pitches) in his last outing on June 11 against the Dodgers, allowing a home run.
He allowed another on Wednesday. Dominguez gave up a leadoff double to the Diamondbacks’ nine-hole hitter, Jake McCarthy, then allowed a walk to Geraldo Perdomo, but induced a pop out and a fly out to get two quick outs. He was one pitch away from escaping damage, but on a 2-2 count, he fed a hanging slider to Norristown, Pennsylvania, native Christian Walker. Walker knew exactly what to do with it.
He launched the pitch 427 feet to left field. The Phillies’ 3-0 lead was blown. The game was now tied 3-3. Suárez, for all of his efforts, would not get the win.
The Phillies were unable to pile on in the ninth, and Craig Kimbrel pitched a one-hit inning in the bottom of the inning that featured a defensive blunder in the outfield. With Brandon Marsh on second base in the tenth, and one out, Trea Turner hit a pop up to right field that, bizarrely enough, also resulted in an outfield collision — this time on the Diamondbacks’ part. Castellanos drove home Marsh with a sacrifice fly to give the Phillies a 4-3 lead. Bryce Harper grounded out to end the inning.
Tasked with protecting that lead, Jose Alvarado entered in the tenth. Like Domínguez, Alvarado has not looked himself of late. After not walking anyone in his first 14 outings, he has walked three batters and allowed one earned run since he returned from the injured list on June 9. But on Wednesday, he looked sharp.
Alvarado threw 100 mph or harder on 16 of his 23 pitches. He allowed one walk and one hit over one inning of work with one strikeout, earning his sixth save of the season.
Suárez has been good for the Phillies this season, but he was great on Wednesday night. Facing his toughest opponent yet, he allowed no runs and only four hits and two walks with seven strikeouts over seven innings pitched. His fastball command was sharp. And, per usual, his defense was second to none.
In the third inning, with one out and a runner on first, Emmanuel Rivera hit a ball straight at Suárez, who threw it to Bryson Stott at second base. Suárez’s throw was a little high, but Stott closed his glove too quickly and missed the catch. The runner advanced to third, and the double play opportunity was quashed. Stott was charged an error.
Suárez made up for it one at-bat later. Lourdes Gurriel Jr. hit a ground ball to first baseman Kody Clemens, who threw it to shortstop Turner, who was covering second. Suárez sprinted to first base, and scooped Turner’s throw with his opposite foot on the bag.
He flipped the ball out of his glove nonchalantly as he walked off the field, calm and collected as always. The Phillies needed a shutout outing from their lefty tonight. There was little room for error. The Phillies scored two runs early off of Diamondbacks starter Merrill Kelly, but Kelly gained steam as his outing continued. He struck out five straight batters before allowing a titanic 428 foot home run to J.T. Realmuto in the sixth.
Luckily for the Phillies, Suárez was gaining steam, too. He struck out four of the eight hitters he faced in the fourth and fifth innings.
