Ranger Suarez knows the postseason is the Philadelphia Phillies’ top priority at this point, but he still wants to close the regular season on a positive note.
Suarez will get the start for the Phillies on Saturday when the Minnesota Twins visit to play the penultimate game of the regular season for both teams.
Philadelphia (95-65) sits one game behind Milwaukee (96-64) in the race for the top seed in the National League playoffs. The Brewers own the tiebreaker for home-field advantage throughout the NL postseason.
If the Phillies want to stay alive for the No. 1 seed, they likely will need a better effort out of Suarez (12-7, 3.12 ERA). The left-hander gave up six runs in four innings Sunday in Arizona, suffering his first loss since Aug. 12.
Suarez is expected to start one of the first two games of the NL Division Series for Philadelphia, which already has secured a first-round bye.
“That’s what we work for, right? That’s why we have such a long season ahead of us every single year, to get to October,” Suarez said. “We want to perform in the playoffs. I think we’ve lacked a little bit the past couple of years, so we all want to perform there. That’s what it’s all about.”
Suarez would love to mimic the performance of Aaron Nola from Friday’s series opener. The Phillies’ right-hander gave up just one run and two hits and struck out nine batters over eight innings in a 3-1 victory.
Edmundo Sosa highlighted the offensive action for Philadelphia with his fourth home run in the last three games.
“He’s so strong,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said of his top utilityman. “With his strength, if you barrel the ball up, it’ll fly, especially in this ballpark.”
Minnesota (69-91) is crawling toward the end of a disappointing season in which the team dealt away many of its key players. Included in that group is Jhoan Duran, who worked the ninth Friday for his 32nd save – 16 with the Twins and 16 since a midseason trade to the Phillies.
Despite his team’s struggles, Twins manager Rocco Baldelli remains proud of his players and their effort in the face of adversity.
“We’ve continued to prepare and continued to go all out as a team, as a group, with good energy and good pregame work and good prep,” Baldelli said. “Both on the position player side and on the pitching side, none of that waned at all. You have guys pulling for each other.”
Saturday’s starter for Minnesota is one of the two prospects the team received in the Duran trade.
Mick Abel (2-4, 7.36) is 0-2 with a 14.63 ERA in three appearances (one start) since coming over from Philadelphia. He was hit hard in his first two outings before spending three weeks in the minor leagues.
In his return to the major league mound, the right-hander gave up two runs and one hit in four innings of relief last Saturday against the Cleveland Guardians.
“He was throwing 99 in the first inning out there and he can spin the ball real good,” said Baldelli. “I think he’s harnessing all of his stuff and learning different ways to use it against good hitters.”
–Field Level Media
