Categories: 2021 Postgame Recaps

Phillies win thanks to gutsy save from Ranger Suárez

Final Score: Phillies 5, Red Sox 4

If you didn’t know already, the Phillies were playing Sunday’s game shorthanded. Bailey Falter, Connor Brogdon, Alec Bohm and Sunday’s scheduled starter Aaron Nola were all placed on the COVID-19 injured list. Phillies GM Sam Fuld said on WIP before the game that Bohm tested positive for COVID while Falter, Brogdon and Nola were all ruled out due to contact tracing. Cristopher Sánchez, Damon Jones, Mauricio Llovera and Nick Maton were all called up from Lehigh Valley.

Ranger Suárez has a 0.77 ERA in 2021. (Photo by Peter Joneleit/Icon Sportswire)

Somehow, it didn’t stop the Phillies from edging out one of the best teams in baseball in the Boston Red Sox. Ronald Torreyes was the hero, as his three-run home run turned out to be enough to give the Phillies the win. Sánchez pitched well in Nola’s place. Archie Bradley kept the Red Sox off the board in his inning of work and Ranger Suárez picked up a seven-out save.

They’ll head into the All-Star break with a 44-44 record. A doubleheader at home on Friday against Miami awaits them when they get back. It’s unclear how the roster will take shape come the end of the break as it is very likely that the Phillies could still be down four players by the time they resume play.

Top Plays

Xander Bogarts opened up the scoring with his second home run in as many days into the corner of the Green Monster. Opener Brandon Kintzler was pulled after the at-bat for Cristopher Sánchez.

The Phillies took the lead in the third on a base hit from J.T. Realmuto. A bad throw from Hunter Renfroe landed in the dugout, which scored a second run. The Red Sox could have kept a second run from scoring if Pivetta backed up Devers at third. The former Phillies starter appeared to injure himself on the next play while running to cover first on a ground ball from Harper. Pivetta stayed in the game.

Ronald Torreyes became the latest Phillie hit a home run to the Monster. His three-run blast in the fourth inning gave the Phillies a four-run lead.

Alex Verdugo drove in Boston’s second run of the game on an RBI groundout off of Héctor Neris.

Red Sox center fielder Kiké Hernández made two excellent diving plays to rob both J.T. Realmuto and Andrew McCutchen of a base hit in the fifth and sixth innings respectively. His first catch led to Segura getting doubled up at first. Both catches had a combined catch probability of 15 percent, according to the NBC Sports Philadelphia broadcast.

This time, it wasn’t the Phillies who made an embarrassing error on the bases. Christian Vazquez tried to squeeze out a run by stretching a single off the wall in left to a double. He got caught in a rundown and Renfroe, the runner at third, did not advance.
None of that seemed to matter as the Red Sox were able to cut the lead to one off of a single from Bobby Dalbec and a double from Christian Arroyo off José Alvarado. Archie Bradley was able to strand Arroyo at second by getting Hernández to ground out to end the sixth.

Suárez navigated his way out of some serious trouble in the eighth. A single and two walks led to a bases loaded opportunity for Verdugo, who grounded out to second base to end the inning.

Shibe Vintage Sports Starting Pitching Performance

Nick Pivetta: 4 IP, 4 H, 5 R, 4 ER, 2 BB, 1 SO, 1 HR, 76 pitches

Pivetta has been a fine backend starter for the Red Sox this season. He looked more like the pitcher Phillies fans got used to seeing in his tenure in Philadelphia on Sunday. His command came and went and he had some good moments mixed in with pitches he would like to have back. He opted to walk Brad Miller to face Torreyes, which is a decision that didn’t work well in Pivetta’s favor.

Cristopher Sánchez: 3 IP, 4 H, 1 R, 1 ER, 1 BB, 2 SO, 50 pitches

Kintzler was technically the starter, but we’ll focus on Sánchez since he was tasked with throwing the bulk of the innings. Sánchez’s big league career has gotten off to a bizarre start through no fault of his own. In his first career outing, the protective netting in foul territory collapsed. His first career start only happened because the original starter was ruled out due to COVID protocols. All things considered, he did an incredible job. He navigated out of trouble in the third and fourth, stayed in the strike zone and reached 96.7 mph on his fastball.

Phillies Nuggets Player of the Game: Ranger Suárez

Suárez was tasked with a seven-out save, which is never easy. Over 2 1/3 innings, the Phillies lefty stranded the bases loaded and retired J.D. Martinez, Bogaerts and Rafael Devers to end the ninth. He’ll end the first half with a minuscule 0.77 ERA.

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