If there was ever a time the Phillies needed Ranger Suárez, it was Monday night.
With the Phils playing their 11th straight game and Zack Wheeler’s 2025 status in question, Suárez delivered a dazzling performance against the Mariners – exactly what they needed, en route to a 12-7 victory.
The lefty entered off two of his worst starts of the season, allowing 11 runs over his last 11 2/3 innings, but you wouldn’t have known it from the jump.
The weather may have felt Washington-state like, but Seattle looked far away from home. For M’s starter Logan Gilbert, he carried a 2.22 ERA in 10 home starts but a 4.86 ERA away, and the Phillies wasted little time exposing that split.
After back-to-back hard-hit singles by Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper in the first didn’t cash in a run, the offense broke out in the second.
Brandon Marsh opened with a 105.5 mph single, Nick Castellanos followed with an opposite-field knock, and Max Kepler blooped one to score Marsh for a 1-0 lead.
Bryson Stott — who hit .296 on the road trip (8-for-27) — then laced an RBI double to bring up Trea Turner.
With runners on the corners and no outs, Turner — sitting on 1,499 career hits — crushed a three-run homer for No. 1,500, his 13th of the season and first at Citizens Bank Park.
For the first time this season, Trea Turner has a home run at Citizens Bank Park. And it’s a big one as he puts the Phillies up 5-0 in the second.
The party didn’t stop there. J.T. Realmuto, who had worked a nine-pitch at-bat in the first, battled through 10 more before unloading on a solo homer to left. Randy Arozarena barely moved in pursuit.
The Phillies led 6-0 through two innings for a second straight game — this being the first time in franchise history that they have been able to do so.
Logan Gilbert hit the showers after 65 pitches through two frames.
“Gilbert’s a really good pitcher,” Bryce Harper said. “I thought we jumped on him pretty quickly right there.”
But if Sunday in Washington taught the Phils anything, it’s that no lead is safe. After using five relievers to hold off the Nationals a day earlier, Rob Thomson badly needed length from Suárez — and he got it.
After the Julio Rodríguez double in the first, Suárez retired 17 of his next 19 batters, before Mitch Garver stroked a solo home run to open the scoring for Seattle with two-outs in the seventh.
Suárez finished 6 2/3 innings, allowing two runs and striking out 10. It was his third career game with double-digit strikeouts, tying his career-high.
“His command was impeccable,” manager Rob Thomson said of his starter. “He had his curveball tonight … he was really good.”
In the sixth, Harper added insurance. Seattle reliever Casey Legumina hung a sweeper and Harper demolished his 20th homer of the season, a 440-foot shot to right.
ALL Phillies on Monday. Bryce Harper tacks on to their 6-0 lead with a second deck, 440 ft home run in the sixth.
If you thought the Phillies’ lead was safe, Cole Young proved otherwise. After Thomson pulled Suárez in the seventh, he turned to Jordan Romano with a six-run cushion and a man on. A two-out single followed by Young’s three-run homer made it 7-4 and pushed Romano’s ERA to 7.56.
Romano has allowed six earned runs over his last 1 1/3 innings, adding to what has been a rough first season with the Phils.
The Phillies responded immediately in the eighth. With two outs, Trea Turner lined an RBI double, Schwarber added an RBI single and Harper kept rolling through his power-filled August.
Seattle stuck with Legumina against Harper and paid the price. Harper launched a 448-foot three-run shot — his second homer of the night and the 30th multi-homer game of his career — to make it 11-4. This month, Harper has six homers and a .565 slugging percentage.
It was also the first time in the Statcast era (since 2015) that a Phillies hitter crushed two home runs of 440-plus feet in the same game. Ironically, Harper also accomplished this back on May 6, 2015 with the Nationals.
The Phillies added insurance in the eighth when Turner lined an RBI single, marking his 16th three-hit game of the season.
“He’s having a great year,” Harper said. “He’s doing what Trea Turner does.”
The Mariners scratched across three runs in the ninth against Nolan Hoffman — making his Major League debut — but the rookie settled in to record the final outs and lock up Philadelphia’s 72nd win, extending its NL East lead to 5 1/2 games over the Mets.
Despite the uncertainty of Wheeler’s status, the Phils are optimistic with their current group.
“It’s definitely going to hurt,” Trea Turner said. “It’s a good clubhouse where we don’t have to rely on one person … I think if we all pick up a little bit of slack, I think we can get the job done.”
Looking for another series victory
The Phillies will send Cristopher Sánchez (11-4, 2.45 ERA) to the mound Tuesday night as he continues a dominant 2025 campaign. Seattle counters with veteran right-hander Luis Castillo (8-6, 3.48 ERA).
Schwarber has had the most success against Castillo, going 6-for-20 with four homers. First pitch is set for 6:45 p.m. ET.
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