Final Score: Phillies 9, Mariners 0
Coming off a cross-country flight and a series loss against the New York Mets that featured a blown 7-1 ninth-inning lead (in case you hadn’t heard), two straight postponements and a doubleheader, what the Phillies needed more than anything on Monday was a relaxing win.
Enter: More than enough offense, and the guy who always seems to calm things down — Ranger Suárez.
After former Seattle Mariner Jean Segura and Rhys Hoskins got the party started with back-to-back homers in the second (the duo’s second such feat of the season, though on April 9 the order was flipped), the Mariners had a chance to cut or erase the deficit immediately. They put runners on first and second with no outs in the second, but the ever-relaxed Suárez induced two pop-ups, sandwiched around a strikeout, to escape.
A Nick Castellanos double — his first of three hits and two doubles on the night — and a J.T. Realmuto RBI single composed a two-out rally that put the Phillies up three in inning three. Suárez worked out of a two-on, two-out jam that inning to keep it there.
The Phillies doubled that lead in the fifth with a three-run frame, fueled by Castellanos’ second double and Realmuto’s second RBI single. In the sixth, Suárez worked out of yet another two-on, no-out jam, and the Phillies rewarded his efforts with another three-run frame in the seventh.
It was that kind of night. Whether the story of the game was Suárez’s effectiveness or the lineup’s potency is arbitrary, but what’s undeniable is that each did its part and then some. Suárez worked six scoreless innings, conceding just four hits, and the Phillies’ nine runs were more than enough to back him up.
Yet another highlight in a day filled with them: Francisco Morales dazzled in his MLB debut, striking out his first two hitters of his career to open the seventh inning and firing two scoreless innings overall.
Everything about Monday night was sorely needed for the Phillies, especially against a struggling Mariners team that’s now 2-11 in its last 13 games. The Phillies, meanwhile, are 13-16 on the season and will look to clinch the series early behind Aaron Nola on Tuesday.
Shibe Vintage Sports Starting Pitching Performance
Ranger Suárez: 6.0 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 0 R, 2 BB, 7 SO, 0 HR
Arguably Suárez’s greatest asset is his ability to stay calm under pressure, and he certainly demonstrated that on Monday. He was able to miss bats when he needed to, using his typically sharp changeup and a good mix of speeds. His ERA dropped to 3.68.
Chris Flexen: 5.0 IP, 9 H, 6 ER, 6 R, 1 BB, 5 SO, 2 HR
Meanwhile, Flexen wasn’t doing much bat-missing of his own. Flexen was coming off three straight starts of at least five innings and at most two runs, so the output from the Phillies’ offense was especially promising. His ERA jumped to 4.24 on the season.
Phillies Nugget Of The Game
Every hitter in the Phillies’ lineup two through eight had multiple hits. They combined to go 16-for-30 with the aforementioned four extra-base hits, plus an Odúbel Herrera double.
Ticket IQ Next Game
- Tuesday, May 10 vs. Seattle Mariners at T-Mobile Park
- 9:40 p.m. ET
- TV: NBC Sports Philadelphia
- Radio: Sportsradio 94 WIP
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