Bryce Harper, Rob Thomson, and Zack Wheeler credit Alec Bohm after his clutch hit in the 10th inning, especially after the offseason the third baseman had.
WASHINGTON — Ranger Suarez is a safe bet to miss most of April rehabbing a back injury but he took a positive step on Saturday at Nationals Park, throwing a 26-pitch bullpen session.
"The report was really good, velocity was good," manager Rob Thomson said before the second game of the season. "That's a good sign. We'll wait until tomorrow, reassess it when he comes in and figure out where we go from there."
If Suarez' body responds well, the next step would be an up-down bullpen session, simulating finishing one inning and beginning the next. From there, the remaining requirements would be facing hitters in live batting practice and then going on a rehab assignment since he pitched only five innings in camp. Given the weather conditions in the Northeast in April, that rehab assignment could happen in Florida.
Suarez is rehabbing lower back stiffness. The Phillies don't seem especially concerned but this is the third time in four seasons he has missed time with a back injury. It's a huge year for Suarez, a contract year, and he wants to show not only the Phillies but potentially 29 other suitors that he can stay healthy and withstand the rigors of a full season. Suarez set a career-high last season with 150⅔ innings but missed from late July through late August with lower back soreness.
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Taijuan Walker will fill Suarez' rotation spot in the meantime. Walker's first start will come in the Phillies' sixth game of the season, the finale of their first home series against the Rockies.
Wilson progressing
Weston Wilson strained his oblique five weeks ago, the day before spring training games began, and was expected to miss six weeks. On Saturday, he took batting practice on the field in Clearwater for the first time since the injury.
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"He did a full workout today," Thomson said. "Tomorrow is going to be somewhat of a recovery day and then keep building. We've been shooting for mid-April-ish to get him into a rehab assignment. I think he's doing pretty well."
Wilson is a pretty important piece of the Phillies' roster given their lack of right-handed outfield options. He can play both infield corners, both outfield corners, potentially some center field, and he's far from a zero at the plate. Wilson has batted .288/.375/.490 in 120 big-league plate appearances the last two seasons, hitting .333 with a 1.096 OPS vs. lefties.
He would have been on the Opening Day bench if he was healthy, but the injury opened the door for Kody Clemens, who unlike Wilson is out of minor-league options.
