CLEVELAND -- This is the Ranger Suárez that the Phillies have been waiting for.
After starting the season on the injured list with a sore back, Suárez made his season debut last week and allowed seven runs in 3 2/3 uneven innings in a loss to the D-backs.
He made that look like a distant memory on Saturday. Suárez diced through the Guardians’ lineup, tossing seven scoreless innings in the Phillies’ 7-1 win at Progressive Field.
“He was fantastic,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said.
All four of Suárez’s main pitches got the job done in the dazzling performance.
He threw his fastball the most (30%) and was able to get eight called strikes on the pitch. He got three whiffs each on his curveball and changeup and had five called strikes with his sinker.
It marked the first time that had gone more than six innings since he threw 6 2/3 innings against the Orioles on June 14, 2024.
“In my last start I was kind of overthrowing the ball a little bit, so I think that’s the difference,” Suárez said through a translator. “I pitched with what I had today.”
Prior to the game, Thomson said that Suárez’s troubles against Arizona seemed to come when the left-hander had to work out of the stretch with runners on base.
He eliminated that problem on Saturday by barely letting any Guardians reach base.
In fact, he only had to deal with baserunners four separate times.
José Ramírez walked in the first inning, but he was thrown out trying to steal second base.
Carlos Santana led the second inning off with a single, but Suárez eliminated the threat by inducing a double play.
Will Wilson dunked a single into left field in the third inning, but Suárez was able to end the threat with a well-timed fielder’s choice and flyout.
The diciest moment came in the seventh inning, when Ramírez reached on a single and advanced to second on a stolen base that was reviewed on the field.
After setting the tone for the entire evening, Suárez had to wait nearly five minutes for the review to be finalized.
He paced around the mound. He talked to Edmundo Sosa. He threw some warmup pitches.
And after the call was confirmed, he wiped out Kyle Manzardo on a slider on the right-hand side of the batter’s box.
It was the last pitch he threw in an outing where he only needed 82 pitches to get through seven innings. It was another strong start for a Phillies team that’s suddenly overflowing with quality starting options.
“His sinker and curveball were good today,” Bryce Harper said. “He threw the ball really well.”
The Phillies’ first run came on an RBI single from Kyle Schwarber, who extended his on-base streak to 45 games. It’s the longest on-base streak in MLB since Aaron Judge reached base in 45 straight games from Aug. 29, 2022 to April 14, 2023.
“I see him now as a complete hitter,” Thomson said. “He has big-time power, but he’s been really impressive overall through this stretch."
Schwarber finished his day 2-for-5 with an RBI and stolen base.
“It’s just taking my at-bats and going about what I want at the plate,” Schwarber said. “My job at the plate is to get to my pitch … and try to stay stubborn.”
Philadelphia added some insurance in the eighth inning when Harper launched a two-out two-run home run to right-center field off Joey Cantillo.
That homer was followed by a two-run double from Max Kepler. The Phillies ended up tallying six runs in the inning off Guardians relievers Jakob Junis and Cantillo. Every run came with two outs.
“Once Harper hit that home run, everyone kind of exhaled a little bit,” Thomson said.
While that big inning doesn’t negate the Phillies’ scoreless showing Friday, it does help put it in the rearview mirror.
“It’s a steppingstone [for the rest of the season],” Harper said.