Ranger Suárez wasn’t just good in the first half last year — he was elite. A bona fide Cy Young candidate with a 1.75 ERA through a dozen starts. But what followed was a cliff dive: a 2–7 record, a 6.17 ERA over his final 12, and a pitcher who suddenly looked far from dominant.
And now, the warning lights are flashing again.
On Sunday afternoon at Citizens Bank Park, Suárez needed 100 pitches just to get through 4 1/3 innings in an 8–2 loss to the Angels. He allowed eight hits, six runs, walked four — and looked nothing like the pitcher who anchored the Phillies’ rotation earlier this year.
His last three starts? A 5.63 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP. But the real concern might be the radar gun.
His fastball came in nearly two mph slower than his season average of 91.8. His sinker was down 1.6 mph. This wasn’t just a guy missing his spots — this was a guy whose stuff wasn’t finishing.
And yet, no alarm bells from the Phillies' dugout.
“Basically, it was his command,” manager Rob Thomson said. “Poor stuff and couldn’t find his changeup.”
Pressed on the dip in velocity?
“No,” Thomson said. “If it was down, it was down a tick. I don’t have a concern if he’s got his command — because he knows how to pitch. He didn’t have his command.”
The game started after a 41-minute rain delay, but Suárez said the delay didn’t affect his pregame routine.
His last three starts? A 5.63 ERA and a 1.31 WHIP. But the real concern might be the radar gun.
His fastball came in nearly two mph slower than his season average of 91.8. His sinker was down 1.6 mph. This wasn’t just a guy missing his spots — this was a guy whose stuff wasn’t finishing.
And yet, no alarm bells from the Phillies' dugout.
“Basically, it was his command,” manager Rob Thomson said. “Poor stuff and couldn’t find his changeup.”
Pressed on the dip in velocity?
“No,” Thomson said. “If it was down, it was down a tick. I don’t have a concern if he’s got his command — because he knows how to pitch. He didn’t have his command.”
The game started after a 41-minute rain delay, but Suárez said the delay didn’t affect his pregame routine.
"My command was off today and I didn't have control of my pitches, that's the main reason we lost today," Suarez said through a team translator.
The game turned in the second inning when Taylor Ward turned a 92-mph fastball into a bases-clearing double, drilling it into the left-center gap just shy of the 387-foot sign. That shot capped a five-run outburst that left the Phillies playing catch-up the rest of the afternoon.
They never caught up.
Rafael Marchan’s RBI single in the bottom of the second gave the crowd a moment to cheer. Otto Kemp added a solo homer — his second of the season — in the sixth. But that was the offense’s full report.
Kemp, filling in at third base while Alec Bohm nurses a fractured rib, also made two fielding errors — one in the third, one in the seventh. Neither led to runs. But the Phillies will be watching that corner closely over the coming weeks.
Meanwhile, the Angels pieced together 13 hits, drew six walks, and cashed in when it counted. José Soriano did the rest, cruising through seven innings while giving up just two runs.
Rafael Marchan’s RBI single in the bottom of the second gave the crowd a moment to cheer. Otto Kemp added a solo homer — his second of the season — in the sixth. But that was the offense’s full report.
Kemp, filling in at third base while Alec Bohm nurses a fractured rib, also made two fielding errors — one in the third, one in the seventh. Neither led to runs. But the Phillies will be watching that corner closely over the coming weeks.
Meanwhile, the Angels pieced together 13 hits, drew six walks, and cashed in when it counted. José Soriano did the rest, cruising through seven innings while giving up just two runs.
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