Ranger Suárez pitches seven-hit shutout, Phillies' bats come alive in 5-0 win over Rockies

PHILADELPHIA — Ranger Suárez often talks about pitching through the eighth inning, and even the ninth. He says it’s his job as a starter, but it is not something he does often. He hadn’t pitched more than 7 1/3 innings in 2023 and 2022. He had only pitched a complete-game shutout once in his career, on Sept. 22, 2021, against the Pittsburgh Pirates. But given how efficient he was on Tuesday, it seemed he had a chance to go the distance, and he did.

Suárez pitched his second career shutout on Tuesday, in a 5-0 Phillies win over the Colorado Rockies at Citizens Bank Park. When it was over, he barely celebrated. It was very Ranger-esque. He hugged his teammates, one by one, and smiled, but was as even-keeled as if he’d pitched five, or six or seven innings.

Suárez is always that way on the mound, but he reached a new level of stoicism in his start on Tuesday. The left-hander breezed through his first three innings on just 25 pitches. His counterpart on the Rockies, Austin Gomber, needed more than twice that number to do the same thing.

He deftly mixed all five of his pitches, switching speeds with ease. He calmly collected balls hit his way, and took his time throwing them to first base. In the sixth inning, with one on and no outs, Charlie Blackmon hit a grounder to him that Suárez bobbled. Even then, he did not panic. He threw it in time for his first out of the frame.

When Suárez came out for the ninth, he did so to a standing ovation, with his warm-up song, “Mr. Rager” by Kid Cudi, blaring on the loudspeaker. A few fans began chanting “Let’s go Ranger” as he faced Blackmon for the fourth time that night. He finished his outing with seven hits and one walk allowed, with eight strikeouts. He threw 112 pitches (79 strikes).

One of the knocks on the Phillies of late is that haven’t always capitalized — either defensively or offensively — when they get an elite start from one of their best pitchers. On Tuesday, they did enough, in both respects. Catcher J.T. Realmuto broke a cold streak with a two-run home run in the bottom of the first inning.

Bryce Harper, who entered the game hitting below the Mendoza line, flashed some power in the bottom of the sixth, driving in Trea Turner with an RBI double to left field that came off his bat at 103.5 mph. He flashed it again in the bottom of the eighth, when he hit a two-run homer 381 feet into the right-field seats.

Suárez also got some help was on defense. In the top of the sixth, with a runner on third and two outs, Harper made a savvy play at first base. Ryan McMahon hit a ground ball to Turner, who threw to Harper, but not in time to tag out McMahon. All of a sudden, Harper began sprinting across the diamond with the ball to force Alan Trejo, who was standing on third, to make a decision about whether to run home or stay put. The Phillies tagged him out to end the inning.

An inning later, Elehuris Montero hit a line drive single to left field. Montero tried to go for two, and Brandon Marsh gunned it to second base to tag Montero out in time. Marsh was credited with an assist.