MIAMI — Ranger Suárez hadn’t thrown a pitch in a big league game since June 29, but he didn’t waste any time in getting back to his normal self. Or perhaps it’s more accurate to say he got back to his 2021 self, when he posted a 1.36 ERA over 39 games. Suárez pitched as well as he has all season in the Phillies’ 10-0 win over the Marlins on Saturday, allowing only four hits, no runs and no walks with four strikeouts.
He was economical, finishing his afternoon at 64 pitches and 46 strikes in five innings. His sinker and his four-seam fastball both touched 95 and 94 mph a few times, which is a higher pitch velocity than average for him this year. For a pitcher who had a 4.33 ERA when he was placed on the injured list with lower back spasms, his return to action went about as well as the Phillies could have hoped.
With Zach Eflin still on the 15-day injured list with right knee soreness, and starter Zack Wheeler coming off of an uncharacteristically shaky outing, and not much starting pitching depth to drawn from, a dominant stretch from Suárez would be a big help to the Phillies. It’s hard to imagine that he’ll suddenly return to his 2021 self through the remainder of the season, but even a fraction of that output would make an impact.
After a gutsy performance on Friday night, the Phillies notched another big win on Saturday, taking the series win over the Marlins and improving their record to 48-43. Their offense exploded — racking up 10 runs and 15 hits with four home runs — and the bullpen put together another shutdown performance.
Offense heating up
Interim manager Rob Thomson said on Friday night that he knew his offense was capable of scoring more than two runs a night, and that he expected the Phillies to start doing so soon. His words proved prescient. The Phillies didn’t score until the fourth inning, but once they started, it was hard for the Marlins to get them to stop.
J.T. Realmuto, Kyle Schwarber, Didi Gregorius and Rhys Hoskins all hit home runs. Schwarber’s was his 29th of the season and broke an 0-for-16 streak over his last four games. Gregorius’ home run, a two-run shot to right field in the top of the eighth, was his first home run of the season, a promising sign from a player who has struggled to show much power of late.
The Phillies went 3 for 8 with runners in scoring position. They were not only hitting the ball hard, but those balls were falling in for hits (unlike in Toronto). They looked like a different team offensively than they did when they were swept by the Blue Jays. In that two-game series, the Phillies scored only five runs and recorded nine hits.
Realmuto, in particular, has stood out as one of the Phillies’ more consistent hitters recently. He has gone 5 for 8 against the Marlins in this series and is batting .320 over his last seven games.
Brogdon, Romero deliver
In his first appearance since being activated off the COVID-19-related injured list on Friday, reliever Connor Brogdon looked strong. He induced a line out, a fly out, and a foul out, using only seven pitches (five of them strikes), in a 1-2-3 seventh inning. Brogdon hadn’t pitched in an MLB game since June 22.
JoJo Romero, who was making his first big league appearance since being placed on the 60-day injured list on May 18, 2021, also pitched a 1-2-3 inning. Romero, who came back from elbow surgery, induced two groundouts and a strikeout in the ninth inning to end the game.
