NEW YORK -- The Phillies will try to win their series in the Bronx on Saturday afternoon with Ranger Suárez on the mound, hoping to steady himself after a pair of rocky starts.
The left-hander was tagged for six earned runs on nine hits over just 4 1/3 innings in his last outing — a loss to the Angels at Citizens Bank Park. His velocity has dipped in back-to-back starts, not dramatically, but enough to raise eyebrows. And with his ERA now creeping north, this start looms large.
Why? Because it’s starting to feel like déjà vu.
Suárez dazzled through the first half of last season with a 2.76 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP — good enough to earn whispers of Cy Young consideration. Then came the fade: a 5.65 ERA over his final nine starts. The Phillies can’t afford a repeat.
They’ll try to back him with the same thunder they unleashed Friday night, when the top of the lineup torched Yankee pitching in a 12–5 rout. Trea Turner and Kyle Schwarber combined to go 7-for-10. Schwarber smashed a pair of two-run homers. J.T. Realmuto delivered a three-run blast.
For Schwarber, it was a milestone moment — and then some. His first homer of the night doubled as his 1,000th career hit. Per Elias, only two other players in MLB history — Aaron Judge and Mark McGwire — have hit more than 300 home runs before collecting 1,000 hits. Schwarber now joins that club with 319.
Speaking of Judge, he’s out of the Yankees’ lineup Saturday with what manager Aaron Boone called an elbow issue.
As for the Phillies, Nick Castellanos is sitting after jamming his knee in Friday’s win — just his second day off this season. He’s day-to-day, according to manager Rob Thomson.
Thomson also shared updates on Aaron Nola, who is set to begin a rehab assignment Thursday with Triple-A Lehigh Valley. He’ll throw about 60 pitches in that outing. The club wants him built up to 90 before rejoining the rotation, which likely means three rehab starts and a possible mid-August return.
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