PITTSBURGH — A few hours before the Phillies' 2-1, 10-inning win over the Pirates on Saturday night, Ranger Suárez played a game of Uno with reliever Seranthony Domínguez and first-base coach Paco Figueroa. Music was blasting in the clubhouse, and Suárez was shuffling the cards and shaking his shoulders to the beat.
Most pitchers will say little — or nothing at all — on the days they start. They’re locked in, often studying the lineup they’re about to face. Suárez does plenty of studying, but he doesn’t keep to himself. He chirps at his teammates. He dances. He laughs. This levity is one of the keys to his success. He treats his starts like any other day, so when he gets on the mound, it feels like, well, any other day.
When Suárez finds himself in a tough situation, like he did in the fourth inning Saturday night, he isn’t crippled by the pressure, because he hasn’t built much pressure up. The left-handed pitcher seemed like he was destined for a no-hitter early Saturday night. After three innings, he had thrown just 38 pitches, and 30 of them were strikes. He hadn’t allowed a hit or a walk.
