Eight outings in a Philadelphia Phillies starter setting records has led to team success this season. With a 7-0 record and a 1.50 ERA, Ranger Suárez is the lone pitcher in Phillies history to have those numbers or better through eight starts. In addition, Suárez became the second pitcher in team history to have a 7-0 record through eight starts. The other pitcher to have accomplished this for the Phillies was Steve Carlton in 1981. Suárez also became the fourth Phillies pitcher to win seven of their first eight starts since 1901. The others are Carlton during the 1981 season above along with Robin Roberts in 1951 and Grover Cleveland Alexander in 1911 and 1915. Suárez and Carlton are the two Phillies who accomplished this during the live-ball era.
According to Optastats, the 0.722 WHIP Suárez has the best through eight starts for a pitcher whose team won all eight of those games in the live-ball era. Three players accomplished that during the post-1901 dead-ball era. Those three players would be Christy Mathewson in 1901, Addie Joss in 1907, and Mordecai Brown in 1908. Each of those three pitchers is in the Hall of Fame. Suárez currently has the best WHIP among the majors among qualified players. The two other qualified pitchers besides Suárez with a WHIP below 0.800 are Dylan Cease of the San Diego Padres and the AL WHIP leader Tarik Skubal of the Detroit Tigers. Suárez is the lone qualified player with at least five wins, a 0.800 WHIP or better, and a 2.00 ERA or better. With seven wins, Suárez has led the majors.
Phillies Starter Setting Records
So far this season, Suárez has a 7-0 record with a 1.50 ERA, 270 ERA+, and 55 strikeouts. Furthermore, Suárez has a 0.722 WHIP and a 2.63 FIP. Suárez also has a 2.5 bWAR this season, leading all pitchers. The 1.50 ERA Suárez has ranked second in the majors behind Chicago Cubs starter Shota Imanaga among qualified pitchers. The 1.50 ERA also ranks as the fourth best for a Phillies starter through eight starts since 1912, when earned runs became an official statistic in the NL, per Sarah Langs. Alexander had a 1.14 ERA through eight starts in 1915 and a 1.30 ERA through eight starts in 1916. Meanwhile, Ad Brennan had a 1.46 ERA through eight starts in 1913.
Since 2000, the Phillies have had four starting pitchers with an ERA below 2.00 after eight starts. Suárez this season is one, with the other three being Brett Myers in 2005, Roy Halladay in 2010, and Zack Wheeler this season. Suárez is the third pitcher in the NL to have a 7-0 record or better with a 1.50 ERA or better in a team’s first 40 games of a season during the last 30 years. The other two, Pedro Martinez in 1997 and Jake Arrieta in 2016 won the NL Cy Young Award that season. The most recent NL Cy Young Award winner for the Phillies was Halladay in 2010. The most recent Phillies southpaw to win the NL Cy Young Award was Carlton in 1982.
Pitching Dominance So Far For Suárez
Suárez is one of four pitchers to have a complete game shutout this season. The other three are Ronel Blanco of the Houston Astros, Max Fried of the Atlanta Braves, and Tanner Houck of the Boston Red Sox. Cease and Blanco are the two qualified pitchers with a better batting average than Suárez. So far this season, opposing hitters have had a .168 batting average against Suárez. The 55 strikeouts Suárez has this season tied for the eighth most in the majors among qualified pitchers. Suárez has pitched 54 innings this season, ranking second among qualified pitchers in the majors. Additionally, Suárez is tied for the third-fewest runs allowed in the majors among qualified pitchers with nine.
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