DENVER — Ranger Suarez isn’t just a talent on the mound, he’s a big personality in the Phillies clubhouse.
The Phillies are glad to have both.
“I think it feels really good for him mentally to be able to put him in the locker room and contribute every five days,” Phillies catcher Garrett Stubbs said after Saturday night’s 7-4 win over the Rockies at Coors Field. “For us, as far as winning, we were .500 in our first rotation against the Rangers in the middle of May. I think we’re in a really good spot right now. To see him play tonight shows you what we can do going forward.”
Suarez made his debut in 2023 after a two-month recovery from his left elbow. He allowed seven hits and three runs in four innings as the Phillies won their fifth straight game to improve to 20-19.
It was his first major league hit since Game 3 of the 2022 World Series after his five scoreless innings against the Astros.
“I felt good,” Suarez said through the team’s interpreter. “It really didn’t feel like six months had passed. The most important thing for me is that I feel healthy.
It is not easy to sow effectively after such a long layoff, of course. Getting that back at Coors Field could be especially difficult. Suarez threw more changeups and four-seam fastballs than dips on Saturday, a pitch he mostly leans on.
He said he just left.
“Hitting at this high altitude, your stuff doesn’t do exactly what it normally does,” Stubbs said. “So for him to come out on Day 1 and score like that, I thought it was great.”
“I thought he threw the ball well,” Brice Harper said. “It’s not Ranger-esque, but it’s good to have it back.”
It’s good because the Phillies have solidified their front four in the rotation with Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, Taijuan Walker and Suarez. Suarez is a big contributor in the 2022 postseason. He went 2-0 with a 1.23 ERA and one save in five games (three starts). He got the save in Game 5 of the NLCS as the Phillies clinched their first trip to the World Series since 2009.
In the hallway outside their clubhouse, the Phillies celebrated with a ceiling-to-floor photo shoot of Suarez and JT Realmuto celebrating the final out. It’s one of five new acrylic photos celebrating some of the greatest moments in franchise history.
The Suárez/Realmuto photo is the only one in color. Others are black and white, emphasizing recent success: The Wiz Kids celebrating the 1950 NL pennant, Tug McGraw raising his arms to hit Willie Wilson to win the 1980 World Series, Mitch Williams jumping to Darren Daulton after capturing the 1993 NL pennant. And after Carlos Ruiz won the 2008 World Series, he became a Brad Lidge racer.
The banner above the photos reads: Make more stories.
Suarez wants to be part of another run. It really takes a team effort. The Phillies scored four runs in the first inning Saturday as Rockies right-hander Ryan Feltner walked four batters and allowed two singles. Feltner left the game when Nick Castellanos hit a line drive over his head. Although he is being treated and monitored at a local hospital, reports indicate that he is safe.
It was Harper’s second homer of the season, and a particularly satisfying one, too. Although it may have been happening in the game, many young Rockies fans were within earshot of Harper as he stood in the dugout in the ninth inning. He said a fan told Harper he would win in the ninth, but he had a hard time believing that was all.
Harper had a few things to say to those fans as he crossed home plate.
“It’s always fun,” Harper said. “You can leave it at that.”