Ranger Suárez’s pitch count was at 89 as he walked to the mound in the top of the ninth inning with his second career complete-game shutout on the line.
The crowd of just over 35,000 at Citizens Bank Park rose to their feet to salute a homegrown pitcher they have fallen in love with.
Suárez made his Phillies debut in 2018. His first start at Citizens Bank Park was a 24-4 beatdown from the Mets that was broadcasted on Facebook. He finished the 2019 season with a 0.60 ERA over his final 15 appearances out of the bullpen. His 2020 season was a wash after battling COVID-19 and being stuck in a Clearwater hotel room for weeks.
He came into the 2021 season out of minor league options and needing to find some consistency. All he did was excel in every role the Phillies asked him to fulfill. He was a traditional reliever, a piggyback man, a closer and then a starter. He finished the year with a 1.36 ERA.
But Suárez, like so many of his Phillies teammates, endeared himself to the city during the 2022 postseason.
In the ninth inning of Game 5 of the 2022 NLCS, David Robertson walked off the mound with two on after back-to-back walks. Fans in the ballpark were locked in, and, with José Alvarado and Seranthony Domínguez already used, it was a bit of a mystery as to who was coming out to get the final two outs.
Citizens Bank Park erupted as Phanavision showed Suárez leaving the bullpen mound. As the FOX broadcast was in commercial break, the crowd inside the ballpark loudly cheered for Suárez with his walk-out song “Mr. Rager” by Kid Cudi playing in the background.
All the nervous energy built up after the back-to-back walks was gone. The remarkably calm and cold-blooded Suárez wasn’t going to let the Padres tie the game. He needed only two pitches to send the Phillies to the World Series.
Fast-forward two years later and Suárez is walking back to the mound from the dugout for the ninth inning. “Mr. Rager” played again. He remembers the last time he heard that song this late in a game at home.
“My whole body shook,” Suárez said through a team interpreter.
Suárez on Tuesday spent the previous eight innings cruising through the Rockies order. He came into the ninth inning with only two three-ball counts. Rockies hitters swung early and it didn’t work: Eleven of the 27 plate appearances against Suárez through eight innings ended after no more than two pitches.
“They just don’t make them like that any more,” Bryce Harper said. “Getting into the seventh inning, grinding through, getting through the eighth inning. A lot of guys in the minor leagues are throwing 3 1/2 innings and getting out of the game. It’s kind of tough for the game. So when you have guys that are valuable like that, they’re going to get paid. If you throw 200 innings, you’re going to get a lot of money. I think Ranger is going to be one of those guys. We’re very fortunate to have him on our side.”
He is off to a fantastic start following his first uninterrupted spring training preparing as a starter. He now has a 1.73 ERA and is one of only two pitchers to throw a complete game this season.
“I think he’s the best No. 3 in the game,” Harper said. “Just the way he goes out there and competes every time he’s out there. Just his starts. Every time he goes out there, we have a chance to win, just like the other two guys that go out there in front of him. It’s just a lot of fun to watch.”
It was an impressive display of efficiency that the Phillies needed badly. Aaron Nola threw 7 1/3 innings on Monday, but the scuffling offense needed outings from Alvarado, Jeff Hoffman and Domínguez to help piece together a 2-1 win in 10 innings.
The circumstances on Tuesday night were much different than they were back in 2022 the last time Suárez heard his song in the ninth. The Phillies came into this week, with back-to-back series against the Colorado Rockies and Chicago White Sox, desperately in need of getting it together.
The pitching hasn’t been the issue. The rotation’s 2.69 ERA is the best among National League clubs. The bullpen has been stellar after a rough first series against the Braves.
The bats need to get back on track with a week facing inferior pitching. The offense’s 3.61 runs per game as of Wednesday ranks last in the NL.
Tuesday wasn’t perfect, but there were some encouraging signs. Harper broke out of a cold streak with a double, home run and two RBIs. J.T. Realmuto hit a two-run home run in the first to give Suárez an early lead.
It’s been a strange season at the plate for Harper. He started the season 0-for-11 in his first three games, crushed three home runs in a game for the first time since 2015 and then went cold again.
Harper missed a pair of curveballs in the middle of the plate from Rockies starter Austin Gomber in his first two at-bats. Then he timed up another hanger perfectly in this third and hit a line drive the other way for a double. He then drove a poorly executed slider from reliever Tyler Kinley into the seats in right field for a two-run home run in the eighth inning.
The Phillies don’t need to be at their best to have success during one of the softer weeks of their schedule, but they need to execute on the other team’s misfortunes. Suárez was able to escape a first-and-third with one out situation in the sixth thanks to a well-executed rundown. Ryan McMahon reached on an infield single, but the lead runner Alan Trejo was caught too far off the third base bag. He froze, made Harper run all the way to the other side of the diamond and Bohm tagged him to get the final out of the inning.
Brandon Marsh, who came all the way in from left field to back up the play in the sixth, perfectly played a scorching line drive from Elehuris Montero off the wall and threw a seed to Bryson Stott at second base for the out.
“Plays like that, when they happen, they help you get through the innings fast,” Suárez said.
It was the cleanest game of baseball the Phillies have played all season. Suárez needed it. He induced 12 ground ball outs, with five, including the final out, coming straight back to the sure-handed Suarez on the mound.
“He’s just got ice in his veins,” manager Rob Thomson said. “He really does. He’s phenomenal.”
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