With the National League Championship Series now tied at one game a piece, the series heads to Philadelphia for the next three days. It’s the first League Championship Series home game for the Phillies in 12 years, as they are looking to win Friday and take a 2-1 series lead at home. The Phillies will hand the ball over to Ranger Suárez to start this pivotal game at home. Suarez makes his first start since October 11, when he was pulled after 3 1/3 innings. Philadelphia hopes tonight’s start will be better than his last outing.
Ranger Suarez and Joe Musgrove faced off once in 2022. The result of that game? A 6-2 Phillies win.
Suarez: 7.1 IP, 7 H, 2 ER, 2 BB, 3 K
Musgrove: 6 IP, 7 H, 6 ER, 1 BB, 1 K
We shall see how round two goes
— The Good Phight – x (@TheGoodPhight) October 20, 2022
Ranger Suárez’s Career
Ranger Suárez has been with the Philadelphia Phillies organization for a decade. The Phillies selected the Venezuelan when he was 16 years old, then played for the Venezuelan Rookie League team for three seasons. Suarez was a starter throughout his time in the minors but switched to the bullpen in the majors. In 44 games as a starter, Suarez was 14-10 with a 3.21 ERA and 204 strikeouts in 233 innings. As a reliever, he went 11-5 in 68 games with a 2.91 ERA and 86 strikeouts in 96 innings. When he came to the majors, he seemed to have below-average numbers and ultimately looked uncomfortable at the major league level.
But it’s worth noting that the 27-year-old reliever-turned-starter has surpassed his previous workload at the major league level. He enters Friday with 158 2/3 innings in 2022, surpassing his previous high of 139 in 1/3 innings in 2018. In 67 and 2/3 innings pitched, he had 54 strikeouts with a 4.66 ERA and a WHIP of 1.552. Typically, the Phillies were to use Suarez in the 6th or 7th inning.
2021: A Career Pivot
So how does a middle reliever become a contending team’s top starter within two years? Well, the 2021 season became a breakout season for Suarez. Consequently, one of the biggest changes to his pitching became using his sinker more frequently. In 2021, he threw his sinker 10 percent more often. Suarez uses his sinker when he is ahead in the count, becoming his go-to pitch to strike batters out. His sinker is in the low 90s, but what has improved about the sinker is the movement on it. Within two seasons, his sinker had added five inches of movement and kept the hitter guessing. Consequently, he throws his slider 12 less than in 2020 and now uses the slider just four percent of the time in 2022.
Scouting Report
Ranger has four pitches in his repertoire. Arguably, Suarez’s sinker is his most frequent and best pitch. He is using this pitch more on left-handed hitters as the movement of the pitch tails inside. Since the San Diego Padres have dominant left-handed hitters such as Jake Cronenworth, Juan Soto, Josh Bell, Trent Grisham, and Jurickson Profar, this might be a problem for the Padres. Suarez’s secondary pitch is the changeup. This pitch averages in the mid-80s and accounts for 20 percent of his pitches. Suarez tends to rely on this pitch when he is behind in the count. Additionally, his other pitches include his fastball, curveball, and cutter.
In his career in San Diego, Suarez has played four games against the Padres, where he has pitched 11 innings. In those 11 innings, he is 2-0 with an ERA of 1.64 and a WHIP of 1.000. Suarez pitched in Game 1 of the NLDS against Atlanta, where the Phillies won 7-6 on the road. With Game 3 fast approaching, Suarez has been tasked to start the Phillies home stand on a high note.
Game 3 NLCS
Suarez has a challenge ahead of him in Game 3. Not only is the series tied, but because of what lies ahead for the remainder of the postseason. Friday is the first of a potential five games in days to close out the series. If Suarez has another short outing, it could derail Philadelphia’s pitching plans.
Main Photo:
Players mentioned:
Ranger Suarez, Jake Cronenworth, Juan Soto, Josh Bell, Trent Grisham, Jurickson Profar
