NEW YORK – The Phillies starting pitcher for Game 4 of the National League Division Series had a 6.54 earned run average in his last 11 regular season starts. He gave up at least 2 runs in all but one. He managed to complete six innings just once.
Opponents batted .315 against him with an .885 OPS. He dealt with back soreness that required him to skip a start and then go on the injured list.
Their starter for Game 4 at Citi Field will play a pivotal role in determining whether this team’s World-Series-Or-Bust dream remains alive or ends up being remembered forever as a crushing disappointment, a season that died far too young.
The Phillies, down two games to one in the best-of-five series after Tuesday’s 7-2 loss to the Mets, will be ignominiously eliminated unless they win Wednesday and force a decisive Game 5 on Friday back in their Friendly Confines of Citizens Bank Park.
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If the stats quoted above belonged to an average, run-of-the-mill No. 4 starter, their prospects would appear bleak indeed. Especially against red hot Mets lefthander Jose Quintana. And maybe they do, anyway.
The thing is, the Phillies will be giving the ball to lefty Ranger Suarez. And, as unsightly as his numbers have been of late, that fact casts the situation in a somewhat different light.
Before everything went kerflooey he was 10-1, 1.75. Maybe the best starter in baseball. Made the All-Star team. At the age of 28, seemed to be on the verge of hitting his prime. As a bonus, in nine career postseason appearances he’s 3-1, 1.62.
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When asked in Tuesday’s pregame interview session what gave him the most confidence that he was up to the task, Rob Thomson hung his fedora on the way Suarez threw a week ago in a scrimmage at an empty CBP.
“He was really good for two innings,” the manager said. “I know it’s just an intrasquad game, but the velocity was back up. The command was really good. I haven't seen the command like that since he's come back from the injury.
“Plus, the fact that I think his calmness helps him out a great deal, and that's what gives me confidence.”
Hope is a thin soup, and believing that a couple practice innings will outweigh weeks of struggles may seem like a reach. But Suarez has a track record to fall back on and, besides, the Phillies really don’t have any choice. The only option would be to bring ace Zack Wheeler back on short rest, something he hasn’t done all year, and would also leave him unavailable for a Game 5 if needed.
“We’ve been working on a lot of things,” Suarez said in the interview room through translator Diego D’Aniello. “Basically on my mechanics. My last adjustment was during the intrasquad game. I think we did a really good job on that one. I executed a couple pitches and I felt good. And I think I’m going to have that feeling (Wednesday) instead.
“What happens in September stays in September. It’s time to turn the page. I just forgot about it. We’re in October now, so it’s a different atmosphere, a different vibe. I feel good physically and that’s what I’m thinking about now.”
The adjustment was mechanical, specifically the placement of his legs. “That’s helped me a lot, especially with having a little more life behind my ball, behind my pitches,” he said. “I think working is going to help me with that, and also just going to help me build strength and stamina throughout the game.”
Quintana, by contrast, finished as hot as Suarez started. In his last six regular season starts he had an 0.74 ERA and followed that up with 6 shutout innings in the Wild Card Series against the Brewers.
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