Jun 13, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Ranger Suarez (55) throws a pitch against the Toronto Blue Jays in the first inning at Citizens Bank Park. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Ross-Imagn Images
PHILADELPHIA - There are 83 pitchers in Major League baseball who have made at least six starts since May 10.
Paul Skenes — who is an otherworldly, freak of nature — has a 0.76 ERA across 47 1/3 innings for the Pittsburgh Pirates and an identical 0.76 WHIP. He has 50 strikeouts to only 10 walks.
Sadly, because he plays for the Pirates, he has a losing record at 1-2 in that time.
Still, aside from the record, his numbers are far and away the best of those 83 pitchers in that span.
The next-best pitcher?
Ranger Suarez.
Suarez threw another seven shutout innings on Friday, his seventh consecutive quality start, and the Phillies defeated the Toronto Blue Jays 8-0.
Ranger Suárez's 2Ks in the 2nd pic.twitter.com/SFCrM6cRMx
Since his forgettable season debut — in which he allowed seven earned runs on seven hits in just 3 2/3 innings — Suarez has looked as good as he did at the start of the 2024 season, when he was wisely considered the early frontrunner for the NL Cy Young Award.
In that aforementioned span, Suarez has also made seven starts. He is 5-1 with a 1.16 ERA and 0.96 WHIP.
Suarez was facing a Blue Jays team that entered the game 12-2 in their last 14 games. They scored at least five runs in 10 of those games.
He limited them to four singles, and never more than one in any of his seven innings.
And he did it with his velocity being down for the third consecutive game.
"He gets in these strings where he's really dominant," said Phillies manager Rob Thomson. "He can command the baseball and commands all of his pitches."
It's enough to keep hitters guessing, and interestingly, because he doesn't throw as hard as many other pitchers do, he has to rely on guile and and pinpoint control to have success.
And it's working.
"I know what I'm capable of when I'm healthy, and I'm capable of doing great things," Suarez said through an interpreter. "(Against Toronto) I was staying down in the zone and mixing pitches will. The cutter was great today. The changeup and the sinker too. I think it's a mix of all those things."
Trea Turner, who made several strong defensive plays behind Suarez on Friday, remembered facing him as a hitter and said that Suarez is a bit tricky with how he pitches and that makes it uncomfortable for hitters — many of whom can time up the nose of an airplane if they can see it coming.
Trea Turner explains what makes Ranger Suárez such an effective pitcher even though he’s not overpowering.
(Via @TimKellySports) pic.twitter.com/H902GMKKWH
"There are some guys who throw 100 and you see the ball good and there's some guys who throw 90 and you don't see the ball well," Turner said. "When you're watching on T.V. it doesn't make sense, but he's one of those guys where everything looks the same out of his hand and it takes longer to pick things up. By the time you make your decision, it's a little too late. So, it's not always velo. It's more control, deception and pitch mix and that's where I think he can separate himself."
In many ways, Suarez is the second most-important pitcher on the Phillies at the moment.
After Zack Wheeler, he's been the most consistent pitcher. Jesus Luzardo looked better in his last start but was historically bad in his two previous outings. Cristopher Sanchez has been good overall, but he's had some inconsistency too.
And with Aaron Nola out of the picture for awhile and Mick Abel still trying to find his footing, Suarez is crucial to the Phillies' success as a starter in the near term. Then you can figure it out down the stretch.
"We just got to keep him there," Thomson said twice. By that he meant keep Suarez healthy. Because if he can be this good well into the season - something he couldn't do last year while dealing with a pair of lower back injuries - it's a win/win.
He becomes a key cog for a Phillies potential playoff run, which helps the team, and he puts himself in a position to get paid as a free agent in the offseason.
But there's a long way to go until October.
"I'm just focusing on where I'm at now," Suarez said. "I'm focusing start-to-start and being mindful of where we're at and thinking about the moment."
