PHILADELPHIA — There is something about a beautiful June evening that speaks nicely to Kyle Schwarber.
The Philadelphia Phillies slugger once again left the yard in June with his 3-run blast in the second inning. Schwarber’s third home run of the month tells you that he is heating up once again.
Early offense and strong starting pitching were the winning recipe for the Phillies on Friday night. Earning their second straight win, the club is looking to move past the awful losing streak that plagued them a week prior. A series win against Toronto could certainly do the trick.
Ranger Suarez dazzles once again
When healthy, there is an argument to be made that Ranger Suarez is a top 5 pitcher in all of baseball. The first half of 2024 saw Suarez firmly at the top of the National League Cy Young Award race. Injuries would later detail the first-time All-Star’s quest for the honor. After struggling in the second half of the season, it felt like his production might just be an outlier. Since being activated from the injured list this season, Suarez has been dominant.
“Yeah, he gets in these strings, where he’s pretty dominant, and he really can command the fastball and was doing that tonight. Pinpoint control, lot of strikes, all of his stuff was good…” – Rob Thomson on Ranger Suarez postgame.
Suarez was carving up the Blue Jays’ offense on Friday night, doing an excellent job of keeping their hitters off-balance. Inning after inning, he would continue to make quick work of their offense. Keeping his pitch count low, Suarez worked deep into yet another start, marking 7 straight outings of at least 6.0 innings or more completed.
He would face a little trouble in the 7th, allowing a single and a walk to reach base. Suarez did not panic, however, retiring the side with no issue. Suarez would finish his outing with 7 IP, 4 H, 0 ER, 1 BB, and 6 Ks. He improved to 5-1 on the season.
Working the count
The Phillies had a plan against Kevin Gausman on Friday evening.
A slow approach at the plate forced the offense to see pitches, and it forced Toronto’s starter to have to work even harder. Gausman faced a total of 22 batters in his start against the Phillies, walking four. In the first two innings, the Blue Jays starter threw 57 total pitches, which led to the early 4-0 lead.
After the game progressed, Gausman would start to pick up his pace. He worked quicker counts and tossed 38 pitches in his final 3 frames combined.
Late inning additions
After the fifth, the Jays would move to their bullpen to try and keep the game a 4-0 lead. Left-hander Mason Fluharty would enter for Toronto in the bottom of the sixth. Fluharty would retire Max Kepler but then allow three straight singles, allowing another run to cross. Otto Kemp picked up his first career run batted in with his single to right field.
In the bottom of the 8th inning, the Phillies added once again. Back-to-back doubles from Max Kepler and J.T. Realmuto would give the team a six-run lead. Kepler was finally rewarded after a few hard hit-outs earlier in the game.
With one-out, Brandon Marsh would add to the onslaught. A sacrifice fly would give the Phillies their seventh run of the ballgame before a Trea Turner single would make it 8-0.
Postgame, Rob Thomson spoke on the quality of play on both sides of the ball tonight. “Our at-bats were really good [tonight], we put a lot of pitches on [Kevin] Gausman early. 4 doubles, a home run, Kepler is looking like he is starting to swing the bat, J.T. is having good at-bats, Kemp is having good at-bats, Marsh [is having good at-bats]…”
The Phillies improve to 40-29 on the season with their win Friday night. They send Cristopher Sanchez to the mound on Saturday afternoon at 4:05 pm.
Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images
