The Philadelphia Phillies have been cautious with Ranger Suarez since the All-Star left-hander came off the injured list last month.
Perhaps a favorable matchup against the Rays is just what the doctor ordered for Suarez, who will take the ball on Tuesday when the Phillies continue their three-game series with visiting Tampa Bay.
Suarez (12-6, 2.90 ERA) missed about a month due to lower back soreness before returning to the rotation in late August. He has a 3.21 ERA in three starts since his IL stint, although he has not pitched more than five innings in any of those outings.
He was pulled after 82 pitches on Thursday against the Miami Marlins, having yielded just three hits in five scoreless innings to earn a win.
“I feel like I always say it: He’s Ranger,” Philadelphia second baseman Bryson Stott said. “If he doesn’t have a sinker that day, he has seven other pitches it feels like. And he’s very smart out there and he knows what guys might be sitting on on certain takes or certain swings, and he just throws what he wants to throw. … It’s good to have him back.”
Suarez will take aim at a Tampa Bay lineup that has scored two runs or fewer in three of its past four games. The Rays’ only run in Monday’s 2-1 loss to Philadelphia came on a ninth-inning, pinch-hit solo home run by Brandon Lowe — and even that was nearly caught by a leaping Johan Rojas in center field.
Phillies closer Carlos Estevez allowed that game-tying blast and then took a liner off his leg later in the inning. He might not be available on Tuesday.
“It’s his knee. Just a contusion,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. “They’re checking him out. I’m sure he’ll be a little bit sore (Tuesday).”
Philadelphia (86-58) bailed out Estevez in the bottom of the ninth inning on Monday. Kody Clemens delivered the decisive hit with a single to right field, plating Bryce Harper for the winning run. The Phillies narrowly avoided a third straight defeat after losing to the Marlins on Saturday and Sunday by a combined score of 19-6.
“They’re all big, but it’s good to get the momentum back after (Sunday’s 10-1 loss). (Sunday) was disappointing,” Thomson said. “To come home and have the fan base behind us and win this ballgame — (that) has the potential to get us back going again. I think it was really a huge win.”
Looking to bounce back on Tuesday, Tampa Bay (71-73) will hand the ball to Taj Bradley (6-10, 4.40), who is 0-6 in his past seven starts.
The 23-year-old righty matched his career high of seven innings on Thursday against the Minnesota Twins but still took a loss. He allowed a pair of home runs in the first three frames before yielding just one hit the rest of the way.
“You kind of get angry after something like that,” Bradley said of the homers. “I just concentrated on not letting those runs beat me. I feel like that’s what’s been happening; I’d come out early because of the big inning. I was just trying to eliminate that.”
Bradley will keep a close eye on Kyle Schwarber, who hit his 34th homer of the season in Monday’s contest. The Phillies slugger has six homers in his past seven games and has at least one hit in all eight games this month.
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