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Philadelphia Phillies’ Bryce Harper, right, reacts after hitting Pittsburgh Pirates starting pitcher Wil Crowe (not shown) in the third inning of a baseball game on Saturday, September 25, 2021, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo / Derik Hamilton)
By ANTHONY SANFILIPPO Associated Press
PHILADELPHIA (AP) – Ranger Suarez has done a bit of everything this season for the Philadelphia Phillies. Right now he’s keeping them in the playoff race.
Suarez threw a four-hit shutout, Bryce Harper hit a homerun and the Phillies continued their playoff push, beating the Pittsburgh Pirates 3-0 on Saturday for their fifth straight win.
The Phillies started the day 1 1/2 games behind Atlanta in the eastern NL. Philadelphia is visiting the Braves in a three-game series starting Tuesday.
“We really needed it,” manager Joe Girardi said. “We had a number of guys who weren’t available today outside of the reliever box so we would have had to rely on some inexperienced kids if Ranger hadn’t done what he did.
Suarez (7-5) allowed just four singles, scored none and struck out seven on strikes in his first full Major League game. He didn’t allow a runner to pass first base and only faced one hitter more than the minimum, which put the Pirates off balance and generated a lot of weak contact.
From the pen to the rotation in August, the 26-year-old left-hander had never pitched more than 6 2/3 innings in a match before this outing. But he was efficient with his 97 pitches and seemed to get stronger as the game progressed, striking out four straight batters in the seventh and eighth innings.
It has been an eventful year for Suarez, who was late for spring training due to travel issues related to COVID-19. This delayed the start of his season.
When he first joined the Phillies in May, he was a multiple innings reliever. He then moved on to more powerful roles and was even closer to the squad for a short time before joining the rotation.
“I always try to go out there and do my best to attack the hitters,” Suarez said through a team interpreter. “Today I felt I had good control over my throws, more than usual, especially my slider.
“When you’re a starting pitcher, you have to have a third pitch. When I was a reliever, I didn’t pay much attention to it. I had it, but I wasn’t paying attention. When they told me I was going to start this year, I wanted to start working on it and today that helped me a lot, ”he said.
Harper hit his 34th homerun and Matt Vierling hit his first major league homer as the Phillies (81-74) improved to a record seven of .500 games of the season.
Vierling and Harper both hit solo homers in the third against Will Crowe (4-8). Vierling also chose and walked.
“It was pretty good,” Vierling said. “It had been a while since I touched one and some of the guys were giving it to me here and there. .. The way my swing works, if I catch the ball on the barrel, it lets me hit it hard. At the moment, things are going pretty well. “
Harper hit 35 home runs in 2019, his first season in Philadelphia. No Phillies player has hit more than 35 home runs in a season since Ryan Howard (45) and Jayson Werth (36) in 2009.
Brad Miller added an RBI in the fifth inning to give Suarez an insurance run.
Pittsburgh (57-97) has lost three straight games.
GIVE A LITTLE MORE
Harper’s Homer gave him 46 more hits after the team-record All-Star Game. It overtook Chase Utley (2005) and Ryan Howard (2006), who each had 45.
INDEPENDENT LOVE
The Pirates lost nine of 10 to Philadelphia after winning three games at Citizens Bank Park in 2017.
TRAINERS ‘ROOM
Pirates: INF / OF Michael Chavis (sprained right elbow) is about to return. He played two games at Indianapolis Triple-A on a rehab mission and is expected to make two more before returning to the Pirates for the final week of the season. … RHP David Bednar (right oblique discomfort) started a bullpen session on Friday. Pittsburgh manager Derek Shelton has said he is getting closer and called Bednar “day to day”. … RHP JT Brubaker (inflammation of the right shoulder) continues to progress, but it is not known if he will be able to come back before the end of the season.
Phillies: RHP Archie Bradley was placed on the injured list with a strained left oblique muscle. The injury will cost him the rest of the regular season, but Bradley will be hopeful the Phillies can advance to the playoffs and he can join the team in the playoffs. Bradley had played a preparatory role out of the bullpen. The hope was that Connor Brogdon (groin strained) would be back on Saturday, but he’s now scheduled for a Sunday rehab appearance in Triple-A, so the earliest he can come back is Tuesday. As a result, the Phillies selected Triple-A LHP Kyle Dohy’s contract to fill Bradley’s spot. In order to select Dohy, the Phillies needed room on the 40-man roster and were able to create it by moving LHP Matt Moore (sprained lower back) to the 60-day IL, ending his season. … RHP Sam Coonrod was unavailable again on Saturday with a thumb problem. … OF Odubel Herrera, who usually leads against righties, was not in the starting XI. He was taken out of Friday’s game due to achilles sore left. The Phillies are hoping he can play on Sunday.
FOLLOWING
Pirates: RHP Max Kranick (1-3, 7.28) will depart for Pittsburgh in the series final with Philadelphia.
Phillies: Due to injuries and ineffective starters at depth, Philadelphia hosted a bullpen game every five days in September. They are set to play another in their 2021 regular season home final on Sunday against Pittsburgh. It’s possible Adonis Medina (0-0, 1.59) could get his second start in the major leagues after receiving the call in the Phillies relievers’ last game.
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