Ranger Suarez takes mound for Phillies in Game 7
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Lorenzo Delgado, Contributor
- October 24, 2023
Suarez will try to send the Phillies into the World Series for second year
Phillies lefty Ranger Suarez has already played in one World Series. Now he vows to treat Game 7 of the National League Championship Series like a Fall Classic game.
The Phillies, who were established in 1883, will play the first Game 7 in franchise’s history Tuesday night at home. After losing 5-1 to the Diamondbacks in Game 6 of the NLCS at Citizens Bank Park, Phillies manager Rob Thomson picked Suarez for the winner-take-all Game 7.
“Tomorrow it’s going to be like a World Series game,” Suarez said. “You know it’s win or go home. You know we’re going to be ready. You know we’re going to give it our 100 percent. We’re excited about tomorrow.”
The Diamondbacks will hand the ball to rookie Brandon Pfaadt to search for their first trip back to the Fall Classic since winning their first title in 2001.
Suarez, 28, pitched well in his previous matchup against the Dbacks. He allowed three hits and one walk and seven strikeouts over 5 ⅓ scoreless innings in Game 3 of the NLCS.
Ranger Suarez enjoys postseason stage
The Pie de Cuesta, Venezuela, native has a 0.94 ERA in his first eight career postseason appearances. His ERA over that span is better than the 0.95 postseason ERA Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax posted over eight postseason starts.
Suarez loves pitching in October.
“I don’t think he’ll be too nervous out there,” Thomson said of Suarez. “He’s a cool customer. He’ll go out there and pitch his game.”
When you look at the way Ranger Suarez attends the mound, he carries a calm and relaxed demeanor. Every step, breath, pitch, and stride he takes just looks effortless. His teammates and everyone inside the clubhouse believes his demeanor carries over to them.
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“It’s definitely contagious,” Phillies right fielder Nick Castellanos said of Suarez’s calmness. “So I think he’s the right man, right spot. And I know we’re all excited for him to take the mound tomorrow.”
Suarez, 28, has already helped the Phillies close out a game to send them to the World Series.
In Game 5 of the 2022 NLCS, Suarez collected his first career save against the San Diego Padres. He pitched two-thirds of an inning while allowing one hit and striking out one batter to send the Phillies to their first World Series since 2009.
Now, as a starting pitcher, Suarez will look to send the Fightin’ Phils back to the World Series for the second consecutive year.
Lorenzo Delgado
Contributor
Lorenzo Delgado graduated with his bachelor’s degree from Texas A&M University and is currently attending the University of Houston to earn his master’s degree. Lorenzo was formerly a contributing baseball writer for Call to the Pen on the Fansided Network. He is the host of an Astros baseball podcast called Full Seam Ahead, which is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts and wherever podcasts are found.
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