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<\/p>\nRanger Suarez might be pitching for the Boston Red Sox now, but he still holds a significant presence in the Phillies\u2019 clubhouse.<\/p>\n
\u201cI see him every day,\u201d Jose Alvarado said with a laugh. \u201cRight there in the hallway.\u201d<\/p>\n
Indeed, a large photo of Suarez hangs just outside the clubhouse door. The picture captures him, in full elation, embracing catcher J.T. Realmuto after registering the final out of the 2022 National League Championship Series. (See: Bedlam at the Bank).<\/p>\n
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A couple of weeks ago, before taking the field for pre-game work in Philadelphia, a handful of Phillies were talking about Suarez. They laughed recalling how funny he could be, laughed even more when they talked about how elusive he could be, how hard it was to get him on the phone or answer a text.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s FaceTime him,\u201d someone said.<\/p>\n
Suarez, in the clubhouse with his new Boston teammates, answered the call and had a good laugh with Alvarado, Zack Wheeler, Rafael Marchan, Jhoan Duran and head athletic trainer Paul Buchheit.<\/p>\n
\u201cI love you guys. I miss you guys. See you soon,\u201d Suarez told his former mates before everyone had to get to work.<\/p>\n
The \u201csoon\u201d is here now. The Phillies open a three-game series at Boston\u2019s Fenway Park on Tuesday night. Suarez is scheduled to pitch the third game of the series Thursday night. Jesus Luzardo, the fellow left-hander who ostensibly has taken Suarez\u2019 spot in the Phillies\u2019 rotation, will be on the mound for the Phillies.<\/p>\n
Suarez has not pitched since May 3, when he exited his start against Houston after four shutout innings because of right hamstring tightness.<\/p>\n
After getting tagged for eight runs over 8 1\/3 innings in his first two starts with his new club, Suarez has been on top of his game. In four of his five subsequent starts, he has not allowed a run. Twice he has pitched eight innings. He enters Thursday\u2019s start 2-2 with a 2.77 ERA in seven starts. He sports an impressive WHIP of 0.949. His strikeouts, at 7.4 per nine innings, are down, but so are his hits allowed at 6.2 per nine. In other words, Suarez is \u201cpitching,\u201d getting some chase, limiting hard contact, getting outs. Just like old times.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe moves the ball around so well,\u201d catcher Garrett Stubbs said. \u201cIn today\u2019s game, where everything is analytic, analytic, analytic, he doesn\u2019t necessarily pop on the stuff models because he\u2019s not a huge velocity guy. He pitches. He moves it around. He always had a game plan out there. It was hard sometimes because he had so many weapons and options. When I say hard, I mean choosing which weapon you were going to use. Front-door sinker. Back-door sinker. Cutter. Breaking ball. The big, slow curveball. Four-seamer. And that electric changeup. That\u2019s a lot of weapons — which is why he got paid what he did when he went over to Boston.\u201d<\/p>\n