Ranger Suárez and Phillies achieve seventh consecutive victory

Ranger Suárez and Phillies achieve seventh consecutive victory originally appeared in NBC Sports Philadelphia

CINCINNATI — The 2021 season wasn’t the best in Phillies history and it’s far, far from the worst. It was a middling, neutrally gray and boring season that ended with the team out of the playoffs for the tenth year in a row.

However, scattered among the rubble were some high notes. Bryce Harper won his second National League MVP award, his first since signing with the Phillies. Even though an 82-80 record wasn’t brilliant, it ended a nine-game losing streak.

And perhaps the brightest ray of sunshine to emerge from the entire exercise was the performance of 25-year-old Venezuelan left-hander Ranger Suarez. In 39 games, 12 of them as a starter, his earned run average was 1.36. His opponent batted .194 against him. He had the longest scoreless streak (21 innings) of any Phillies starter. . .as well as any Phillies reliever (15.1 innings).

Baseball is, of course, the most humiliating game. There were back spasms in 2022. An elbow strain after arriving at spring training following a stint in the World Baseball Classic. Hitters likely made adjustments, too.

Don’t look now. . .

It’s still April. So much can, and probably will, happen between now and the finish line. But right now, Suarez couldn’t shoot much better than him. In fact, he’s pitching so well that he botched the surprise test when he jokingly asked if he could remember the last time he gave up a run.

Ha laughed. He indicated this, of course he knew. Then he responded confidently, through interpreter Diego D’Aniello, that it was in the first series of the season against the Braves.

Wrong. It was in his second game, in Washington, on April 6th. More specifically, in the fourth inning. He pitched 25 scoreless innings after giving up two singles in seven innings in a 7-0 victory over the Reds at Great American Ball Park.

It was also the team’s seventh consecutive victory and an invisible rebuke to the notion that they had built their record by blithely piling on two of the worst teams in baseball, the Rockies and White Sox. And they played the first game of a three-city road trip without Bryce Harper, who will miss three games while on paternity leave.

The Phillies have averaged 6.4 runs per game during the streak. That’s impressive, but it pales in comparison to the ridiculous 0.70 ERA the rotation combined for in the same games.

“I don’t have the vocabulary to explain it,” said Rob Thomson. “These guys are throwing shots and have some great stuff. When you have both, you have something. But we have to keep them healthy.”

As for Suárez, the coach said he played a little stronger three years ago. “But he’s a pitcher. Old school,” Thomson said. “He changes speed. He can locate. He throws strikes with all his pitches. He does all the little things. He holds runners. He states his position. He’s a complete pitcher.”

Suárez was coming off a complete game in which he took 112 shots, and that is always a concern this season. Thomson told him before the game that his shooting limit was 80; he ended up needing just 88 to complete seven innings. “I was thinking about taking him out after six, but he threw so few pitches it would be ridiculous,” he said with a laugh.

There is a synergy between attack and defense. Starting pitchers are more likely to throw shutouts when they feel they don’t need to do so to win, as the lineup will put some big numbers on the board. On the other hand, hitters may be more relaxed at the plate, not believing that they will have to beat their opponent.

“It’s amazing,” third baseman Alec Bohm said. “Every time you look up, it’s the sixth inning and (our starter) has between 60 and 70 pitches and he’s dishing it out. We know the kind of talent they have and that everyone is putting it all together at the same time, that’s how you go on a winning streak. Hats off to these guys. They set us up for great success.”

And the offense?

“Being able to build a lead and keep adding to it – it was four innings in a row (second through fifth) that we scored a run. Sometimes that’s how you have to do it, right?