Ranger Suárez exits early, Phillies blown out in fifth straight loss

The starting pitching woes continue in Philadelphia.

Coming off a disastrous road series in San Francisco, the Phillies’ issues on the mound persisted in their return home on Friday night. Starter Ranger Suárez lasted just two innings in his first start of the year at Citizens Bank Park, allowing too much damage in a 10-1 loss to the Chicago Cubs.

The left-hander surrendered four runs, all coming in a 41-pitch second inning that set the Phillies up to drop their fifth game in a row. The Cubs only continued to tack on as Philadelphia fell to 20-24.

After a Nick Castellanos sacrifice fly put the Phillies ahead in the bottom of the first, Suárez ran into trouble that he couldn’t escape in the second. Chicago tallied four hits and two walks in the inning as the lefty struggled to hit his spots, taking a 4-1 lead behind a two-run single from Nick Madrigal and a two-run double off the bat of Nico Hoerner. Making his second start off the injured list with an elbow strain, Suárez could not bring the length the Phillies needed from their starter.

Nico Hoerner is back and already making an impact!

He doubles in a pair and the Cubs are all over the Phillies early up 4-1. pic.twitter.com/dxlxLf1vpo

— Just Baseball (@JustBB_Media) May 19, 2023

Jeff Hoffman entered for the Phillies in the third and tossed two shutout innings, but the Cubs got to the bullpen in the fifth. They added four more runs off Erich Uelmen with Hoerner hitting another two-run double to make it 8-1 and put the game out of reach. Christopher Morel added two more runs for good measure in the ninth with a home run off Andrew Bellatti.

Marcus Stroman and the Cubs took care of the Phillies offense, the right-hander leading the way with a strong six-inning outing with only one run allowed. Julian Merryweather followed with two perfect innings for Chicago before Nick Burdi tossed a scoreless ninth to take the first of a three-games series.

Shibe Vintage Sports Notes

• In their last five games, Phillies starters (including Bailey Falter, who gave up six unearned runs following an opener on Monday, in that category) have a 7.20 ERA with an average of four innings per outing.
• Suárez now has a 10.50 ERA in six innings through two starts.
• With a leadoff single into center field in the bottom of the first, Bryson Stott extended his current hitting streak to six games.

Ticket IQ Next Game

• Saturday, May 20, vs. Chicago Cubs
• 4:05 p.m. Eastern
• TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia
• Radio: SportsRadio 94WIP

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