All hands on deck? Ranger Suárez could appear in Game 2 as Phillies make nearly every pitcher available
PHILADELPHIA — Ranger Suárez sat in the bullpen for Game 1 of the National League Division Series, unused as two Philadelphia relievers combined to blow the lead in the seventh inning of a devastating loss to the Los Angeles Dodgers on Saturday. The left-hander will likely be out there again on Monday as the Phillies will have just about all hands on deck for the critical Game 2 at Citizens Bank Park.
When Jesús Luzardo takes the mound for Philadelphia against Dodgers starter Blake Snell, the Phillies will have nearly every pitcher available following Sunday’s day off. Game 1 starter Cristopher Sánchez would be the only pitcher that Phillies manager Rob Thomson would have off limits, putting Suárez and Aaron Nola — the two starting pitchers in consideration for Game 3 — on the table for an appearance.
“I think we’ll have probably everybody available, really,” Thomson said, “other than Sánchie. And then we’ll figure out Game 3 if we use everybody. … I’m talking about Ranger and Nola being available. We’d probably use only one of those guys unless we absolutely have to, just so that the other guy can start Game 3.”
Thomson tabbed Luzardo, who had a 3.92 ERA in 32 starts, as his Game 2 starter over Suárez, who had a 3.20 ERA in 26 starts, in part because it allowed Suárez to be a potential relief option for the opener. But Thomson said Saturday that he’d only actually use Suárez in the event that Sánchez was pulled early and the Phillies needed someone to help them get to their leverage arms or if Game 1 went to extra innings.
Suárez was not a consideration, Thomson said, for the pivotal top of the seventh on Saturday. With the Phillies leading by a run, veteran right-hander David Robertson began the inning after recording the last out in the Dodgers’ half of the sixth. He let up a leadoff single to Andy Pages and hit Will Smith with a ball. Lefty Matt Strahm entered to try to clean up the mess and retired his first two batters. But he missed his spot on a 91.8 mph fastball to Teoscar Hernández, who hit a go-ahead three-run home run to right-center field.
After a night to think about it, Thomson had no regrets about how he managed his bullpen when speaking to reporters on Zoom on Sunday morning.
“I think we played it exactly the way I wanted to play it,” Thomson said. “And we talked about that situation going into the game, and D-Rob, in my mind, was the guy to go to there and stay with him, even though he hadn’t done an up-down all year. … Strahm, for the most part, did his job. He got the strikeout and the popup and made a mistake. Just didn’t hit his spot. And that’s going to happen every once in a while.”
If Suárez was not going to pitch in a high-leverage spot, it’s fair to wonder if his bullpen utility for Game 1 should not have played much of a factor into deciding who would pitch Monday. With Luzardo already announced as the Game 2 starter, Suárez will be available as a reliever again. It’s a role he’s handled with success before, serving as Philadelphia’s closer for a time in 2021 and making two key relief appearances out of the bullpen in between his starts during the 2022 postseason; he etched his name into all-time Phillies lore when he threw the final pitch of the NL Championship Series that year and sent the club to the World Series.
With a must-win matchup against the Dodgers in front of the Phillies, Thomson said Suárez could “possibly” be a candidate to throw in a more crucial situation on Monday. But that could be dicey for the team’s pitching plans for the rest of the NLDS, potentially taking him out of play to start Game 3 on Wednesday at Dodger Stadium. Nola had a strong eight-inning outing against the Twins in his last start of the season, but this year wasn’t the 32-year-old’s finest work; he had a 6.01 ERA in 17 games. Nola would be less than a sure thing in Game 3, but Thomson has expressed trust in the right-hander due to his long track record.
But the third game might not really matter all that much if the Phillies head to LA in an 0-2 hole, as their chances of winning the series would plummet. Game 2 comes first and foremost. And aside from what it lets the Phillies do with Suárez, Thomson also chose Luzardo for Game 2 because he was extremely effective down the stretch. In four September outings, Luzardo had a 3.21 ERA and averaged seven innings per start.
Of course, there have been blips on the radar in his first season with the Phillies. He was shelled for 20 earned runs in a two-start stretch earlier this year. He allowed four runs in four innings against the Mets in New York in August and got ejected as he was taken out of the game. He’s let things spiral at some points. But Thomson believes that the high-energy Luzardo has made the necessary adjustments and feels good about handing him the ball for this pressure-packed Game 2.
“I think he’s grown,” Thomson said. “He’s learned over the course of the year how to slow it down, and especially in this environment. So I’m super confident that he’s going to be ready to go, and he’ll be able to handle the task and handle the emotional part of the game.”