PHOENIX – Small ball, long ball, ugly ball. It was all there early in the series finale between the Phillies and Arizona. Philadelphia supplied the ugly, the Diamondbacks the rest as they cruised to a 9-2 win.
Arizona, which had 15 hits on the day, batted around in the second inning, when they scored five runs off starter Ranger Suárez. They loaded the bases to begin the inning without a ball leaving the infield. Tim Tawa hit a chopper to third that Alec Bohm bobbled and threw late for an MLB single. Jordan Lawler walked and Jorge Barrossa laid down a perfect bunt. Katel Marte’s single scored two before Corbin Carroll launched a rocket to the rightfield seats for his 31st home run of the season and a 6-0 lead.
“They made me pay for all the pitches that I left in the zone,” Suárez said. “Ending the season healthy. There’s one more start before the post season so I just want to pitch as well and end the season on a high note. Pitch better, think a little bit better when I’m on the mound and just perform a little bit better.
“That’s what we work for (the playoffs),” said Suárez. “That’s why we have such a long season ahead of us every single year to get to October and perform in the postseason. It is exciting. We want to perform in the playoffs. I think we’ve lacked a little bit the past couple of years. We all want to perform there. That’s what it’s all about. We want to get it done this year.”
If Suárez needed to get an ugly performance out of his system before the playoffs begin, this one was it as he gave up six runs and eight hits in the first two innings alone. He was done after four innings and 79 pitches.
“He had a 33-pitch second inning, basically is at 80 pitches after the four,” said Rob Thomson of removing his starter. “Down 6-0, I just wanted to take care of him. They’ve got a lot of speed and other than Carroll’s home run, I don’t think they hit many balls that were hard off of Ranger. They’ve got a lot of speed.”
There was little excitement provided by the Phillies – perhaps the Eagles used it all up – as they could do nothing of significance against Arizona lefty starter Eduardo Rodriguez, who allowed no runs in his six innings. They did score two in the eighth on a single by Nick Castellanos that drove in J.T. Realmuto, and a bases loaded walk by Weston Wilson. Third baseman Alec Bohm remained hot since his return from the injured list on Friday, as he was on base five times with a double, three singles and a walk.
“He’s been great,” Thomson said. “I’ll probably have to move him up. He’s on everything. Maybe that healthy shoulder is really helping. He’s swinging the bat good. We had plenty of opportunities today. I think we were 1-for-14 (with runners on). Casty had the base hit. We had plenty of opportunities we just didn’t come through.”
There were some signs of a pulse in the sixth when pitcher Tim Mayza plunked leadoff hitter Katel Marte after Jorge Barrosa hit his first major league home run and celebrated circling the bases a bit too much, but nothing came of it. Later in the inning, Carroll stole second base for his 30th swipe of the season, becoming the first player in Arizona history to have 30 homers and 30 stolen bases.
The Diamondbacks got another run in the seventh when Tim Tawa belted a 2-2 slider from Orion Kerkering to the seats in leftfield. Kerkering gave up two more hits in the inning but got out without any more damage. They closed out their scoring by getting a run in the eighth off Jhoan Duran, who was simply getting in some work having not pitched since Tuesday.
“I talked to Duran and I said, ‘If you don’t pitch today, you’re going to be off six days going into Tuesday. Do you want an inning?’ And he said yes. So that’s why we pitched him in the eighth. I asked the same thing to David (Robertson) and he said, ‘Not necessarily.”
The Phillies have an off-day Monday before facing the Miami Marlins on Tuesday to start a three-game series. Cristopher Sánchez will get what could be his last start of the regular season as he prepares to be the Game One starter for the Phillies when they begin the playoffs.
Though his performance may not have showed it Sunday, Suárez is ready for the postseason.
“I feel better overall, if you want to compare it to last year (at this time),” Suárez said. “I’ve been feeling better overall after every single start. Whatever is best for our team to win, (starting) Game Two, Game Three, Game Four. I’m willing to do whatever it takes to help this team win.”
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