ALLENTOWN — It was a breezy rehab start for Ranger Suarez on Tuesday night with the Triple-A Lehigh Valley IronPigs as he works his way back from his lower back tightness.
In his third rehab start and first with the IronPigs, Suarez cruised through five scoreless innings, throwing all five of his pitches, throwing 22 sinkers and 17 heaters while mixing in 12 curveballs and flashing his changeup seven times and one cutter. He had eight swings and misses. His fastball sat around 92 while topping out at 93.
Suarez’s Appearance
His first three innings were particularly impressive, pummeling the strike zone with 21 of his first 26 pitches good for strikes.
“It was normal Ranger fashion. Mixing pitches, mixing sides of the plate. He looked like Ranger Suarez,” Garrett Stubbs said postgame after catching Suarez.
The left-hander went on to throw five scoreless innings, scattering two hits, walking two, while striking out five batters on 59 pitches, with 40 being strikes.
The lefty was expected to throw 75 pitches in the rehab start, but he was very efficient and pulled after the fifth inning. However, the ending to his outing and his late decline to speak with media could potentially be linked to the reports coming from Flushing, where Cristopher Sanchez was pulled after two innings against the Mets due to left forearm soreness, which was around the same time Suarez was replaced in the game.
The Phillies will need to get a diagnosis of the severity of Sanchez’s soreness in his left forearm, and Taijuan Walker experienced shoulder stiffness in his last start. Suarez is scheduled to make another rehab start with Lehigh Valley on Sunday, with his pitch count increased to 85-90 pitches, but he could potentially make his next start back with the big-league club if things go further south with the rotation. The Phillies do have a pair of off days on Thursday and Monday, which could allow them to skip over that spot in the rotation.
Seth Johnson Makes Relief Appearance
With the struggling bullpen up in Philadelphia, it was noteworthy that Seth Johnson made his first relief appearance of the season in the game after making his first four appearances of the season out of the rotation. He tossed two scoreless innings, did not allow a hit while walking 2, and struck out a pair of batters.
As a starter, Johnson was 2-1 with a 4.42 ERA in 18.1 innings of work with 22 strikeouts and a 1.53 WHIP. The #12 prospect in the system made one start with the Phillies last year.
Kemp Makes History
Otto Kemp was bruised four times in the 7-3 win for the IronPigs while also bashing an opposite-field double. The four hit-by-pitches for Kemp set a new Lehigh Valley franchise record.
Mandatory Credit: Nathan Ray Seebeck-Imagn Images
