DeCamara: 'Ranger Suarez is my current favorite Phillie'

Alexa, play “ Mr. Rager” by Kid Cudi.

The song is an obvious play off of Suarez’s first name. If you didn’t know any better, the lyrics sure sound a lot like “Mr. Ranger” coming through the CBP sound system.

The song played as Ranger Suarez took the Citizens Bank Park mound at 6:40 pm eastern Tuesday night. The song played again less than two hours later to begin the 9th inning, as the Phillies left-hander emerged from the first base side dugout to a roar from 35,000 plus.

The fans were delighted to see a starting pitcher begin, let alone finish, the 9th inning . Certainly a rarity in 2024.

"He's my favorite Phillie," DeCamara said of Suarez. "Rhys Hoskins was my favorite Phil of modern day Phils. Ranger, with Rhys gone, I can tell you definitively he is my favorite current Phillie...He's just cool, man... He is the slickest fielding Phillies pitcher I have ever seen ."

As largely disappointing as the offense has been to begin the season, the starting rotation has done nothing but dazzle. The combined ERA of Wheeler-Nola-Suarez-Sanchez-Turnbull is now 2.69, best in the National League to date.

Following Tuesday’s game, Bryce Harper called Suarez, "The best number three in the game.” The only Phillies fans who might disagree are those who would suggest he’s not even a three to begin with, that if a playoff series began today they’d trust the 28-year-old from Venezuela over Aaron Nola.

Tuesday night’s takeaway is easy. The rotation can compete with anyone in baseball.

While the team may be built to slug at the plate, this teams’ pitching is good enough to slug out wins on nights like Monday where the bats don’t show up.