Ranger Suarez Helps Lead Philadelphia Phillies to Victory in Return

The Philadelphia Phillies (75-54) have struggled since the second half of the season began, but the last two weeks have seen the club slowly piece things back together. In this three-game series with the Kansas City Royals (72-57) everything has been clicking, outside of the pitching from one starting pitcher who shall not be named.

Tonight, the Phillies put it all together on the same night to take it to the Royals and win 11-2.

Ranger's Return

A massive piece of the Phillies' success tonight was the returning Ranger Suarez (11-5, 2.82 ERA). Suarez returned from a lower back injury after being on the injured list since July 27th.

Suarez seemed to be on his game after the long absence. His velo would be in line with his season averages, and his control was on form with 36 of his 72 pitches being in the strike zone.

Suarez generated four whiffs and 17 called strikes for a CSW of 29 percent. He also limited hard contact with an average exit velocity against of just 74.5 MPH.

It was a much-needed start for the Phillies and Suarez, and it will be a massive boon for the Phillies if Suarez is in fact back on track down the stretch.

Notables

• The Phillies scored 10 runs tonight. It was the first time the Phillies have put up double-digit runs since August 15th when they scored 13. It is the 10th time this season the Phillies have scored 10 or more runs.
• The Phillies have held Bobby Witt Jr. to just 1-for-9 through the first two games of this series. His 0-for-4 tonight snapped an 11-game hitting streak.
• J.T. Realmuto would be a huge part of the Phillies scoring tonight. Realmuto went 3-for-5 with two three-run home runs and an RBI groundout. His seven RBI would be a new single-game career high.
• Through the first two games of this series, the Phillies' offense has tallied 29 hits in 81 at-bats for a .358 batting average.
• Through the first two games of this series, the Phillies' offense has 29 hard-hit balls (balls hit with an exit velocity of 95 MPH or more).
• Through the first two games of this series, the Phillies' offense has hit 19 balls with exit velocities of 100 MPH or more.
• While the Phillies have not drawn any walks in this series, they have made the Royals' pitchers work, averaging a combined 3.91 pitches per plate appearance, and 3.93 pitches per plate appearance tonight.

WPA Leader of the Night

With an amazing return from injury, tonight's WPA leader of the night is Ranger Suarez. A fantastic outing from the lefty, holding the Royals to only one run on four hits and one walk while striking out six in five innings would help boost the Phillies to their 75th win of the season.

Suarez's WPA score would finish at 16.5.

Next Up

Next up for the Phillies is the rubber match of this three-game series on Sunday. The first pitch for Sunday's game is scheduled for 2:10 PM EST. The game will be broadcast nationally on ESPN+ as well as on NBC Sports Philadelphia and Bally Sports Kansas City.

Phillies fans can listen to the game on 94 WIP or WTTM 1680.