So here’s how you lose a ballgame when your starter gives you nearly eight shutout innings, walks off with a 2.08 ERA … and still gets the loss:
You run into a buzzsaw named Framber.
You swing early and often, and mostly, harmlessly.
You go 0-for-7 with runners in scoring position.
And you get beat by a backup catcher hitting .167 who barely cleared the bullpen wall in the eighth.
Welcome to Daikin Park, where Ranger Suárez threw 7 2/3 innings of sparkling baseball on Tuesday night, allowed just four hits, and still walked off a 1-0 loser. The only damage? A one-out, opposite-field solo homer by Cooper Hummel, who hadn’t gone deep in nearly a year and entered the night 6-for-36 on the season.
Of course he did.
The Phillies had their chances, mostly against Framber Valdez, who was typically maddening. He gave them plenty to swing at. He got only three whiffs all night. But somehow, the Phils kept pounding the first pitch into outs. They swung at the first offering eight times and made eight outs. And when they did get on base, the clutch hit never came.
Best shot? The sixth inning. J.T. Realmuto reached on a throwing error. Otto Kemp walked. But with one out and the tying run in scoring position, Edmundo Sosa grounded into a double play. And just like that, the Astros wriggled out of it.
Suárez, meanwhile, just kept dealing. He danced out of trouble in the sixth after Houston finally broke through with their first two hits of the night. He struck out seven and nearly matched his longest outing of the year — eight innings back in April against San Diego. He didn't surrender a hit until the sixth.
But on this night, there was no margin. And once Hummel went deep, that was it. Houston closer Josh Hader slammed the door in the ninth for his 20th save in 20 chances.
And so the Phillies, who had climbed into first place with a series win over the Mets, couldn’t build any cushion. New York lost again, but so did the Phils. Which means that NL East lead remains at just 1 1/2 games heading into Game 2 in Houston.
The Phillies had their chances, mostly against Framber Valdez, who was typically maddening. He gave them plenty to swing at. He got only three whiffs all night. But somehow, the Phils kept pounding the first pitch into outs. They swung at the first offering eight times and made eight outs. And when they did get on base, the clutch hit never came.
Best shot? The sixth inning. J.T. Realmuto reached on a throwing error. Otto Kemp walked. But with one out and the tying run in scoring position, Edmundo Sosa grounded into a double play. And just like that, the Astros wriggled out of it.
Suárez, meanwhile, just kept dealing. He danced out of trouble in the sixth after Houston finally broke through with their first two hits of the night. He struck out seven and nearly matched his longest outing of the year — eight innings back in April against San Diego. He didn't surrender a hit until the sixth.
But on this night, there was no margin. And once Hummel went deep, that was it. Houston closer Josh Hader slammed the door in the ninth for his 20th save in 20 chances.
And so the Phillies, who had climbed into first place with a series win over the Mets, couldn’t build any cushion. New York lost again, but so did the Phils. Which means that NL East lead remains at just 1 1/2 games heading into Game 2 in Houston.
Quotable
"He was phenomenal," Phillies manager Rob Thomson said of Suarez. "I felt good about sending him back out for the eighth. He still had pitches left, I thought he was in command of the game. He just left a cutter up in the zone, middle of the plate. That's the way it goes." - per MLB.com. Loading Phillies schedule...
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