June 02, 2024
John Geliebter/USA TODAY Sports
Ranger Suárez only pitched two innings Friday night against the Cardinals after taking a line drive off his throwing hand.
Ranger Suárez took a comeback line drive straight off his left hand on Saturday night and everyone watching held their breath.
Suárez, unbreaking from his effortlessly cool demeanor, calmly picked the ball up and tossed it over to Bryce Harper at first to register the second inning's final out. But walking back to the Phillies' dugout, it was clear the lefthander was in pain.
Fortunately, both he and the Phillies believe they avoided the worst.
The bullpen covered, the Phillies went on to beat the visiting St. Louis Cardinals 6-1, and postgame, X-rays were negative and the mood was light, per The Athletic's Matt Gelb and multiple other beats.
A left hand contusion is Suárez's immediate diagnosis, per MLB.com's Paul Casella, and the swelling from it will render his next expected start on Saturday for the London Series against the Mets as questionable.
Still, they avoided the worst.
“I feel pretty lucky right now," manager Rob Thomson said postgame (per Gelb).
And Suárez?
Theres a big screen in the middle of the Phillies clubhouse that players do interviews at. It blocks an island table. When it was Ranger Suárez’s turn to talk, he crawled under the table and emerged with a smile. Non-committal on next start, but positive overall.
— Tim Kelly (@TimKellySports) June 2, 2024
The Phillies' starting rotation has been one of the fiercest in baseball through the season's first two months, and Suárez has been the focal point of it.
The 28-year old lefty stormed out to a dominant 9-0 start, at a pace and with numbers not seen in years. He hit a snag in his previous start last Sunday against the Rockies out in Colorado for his first loss of the season, but looked to have shaken it off with two shutout innings against the Cardinals on Saturday night until Alec Burleson's liner for the last out forced him to exit.
José Ruiz picked up the third inning for the Phillies, which bridged over to Spencer Turnbull, who blanked the Cardinals through the middle three innings with six strikeouts.
If Suárez does end up missing the start in London, Turnbull could get the nod to pick it up. He started the season at the back of the rotation while Taijaun Walker was making his way back and held up well until the call came to move into the bullpen.
A spot start, even across the pond, shouldn't be much of a problem.
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