Bullpen collapses; Phillies falter with runners in scoring position in loss to Marlins

Ranger Suárez pitched 6⅓ innings of no-hit baseball on Sunday. That type of performance warrants a win, but he did not get one. Instead, he got the no-decision in a 5-4 loss to the Marlins.

The bullpen struggled again, and the Phillies failed to hit with runners in scoring position — again. After a good performance from Dylan Covey to keep the score at 5-4 entering the bottom of the ninth, Trea Turner (hit by pitch) and Bryce Harper (walk) gave the Phillies runners on first and second base with no outs for Alec Bohm.

But Bohm, who struck out with the bases loaded to end the seventh inning, hit into a double play against Tanner Scott. Bryson Stott struck out. It was a deflating way to lose a game in which they’d held a 3-0 lead, let alone a series. It was the Phillies’ second blown lead in the past three games.

Because the Cubs won on Sunday, the Phillies now have just a two-game lead against the Cubs for first place in the National League wild-card standings. They are 78-64.

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Suárez was solid in his first start since coming off the injured list on Sept. 3. But on Sunday, his second start, he was almost untouchable. He struck out 10 batters, setting a new career-high for strikeouts in a game. He faced 24 batters and only five reached base, on three walks and two doubles.

Suárez’s no-hit bid was broken up with one out in the seventh inning. After Bryan De La Cruz walked, Dane Myers hit a line-drive double to center field. Brandon Marsh hustled for it, reaching out his glove as far as it could go, but he just missed the ball. Yuli Gurriel doubled to drive in De La Cruz and Myers.

Matt Strahm entered in relief of Suárez with a runner on second. He struck out Jazz Chisholm but walked Jon Berti. Nick Fortes singled in Gurriel to tie the score.

Sunday was the closest we’ve seen Suárez get to the 2022 version of himself. It’s been a challenging few months for him. He started the year on the injured list after suffering a forearm injury during the World Baseball Classic.

Further testing revealed that Suárez had a left elbow strain. He missed the first month-and-a-half of the season. When he returned from his rehab assignment in mid-May, he labored through his outings. After a strong month of June, when he posted a 1.08 ERA, he struggled in July, recording a 6.11 ERA.

He was put back on the injured list in mid-August with a right hamstring strain. He has made only 19 starts this season. For reference, Aaron Nola has made 29; Zack Wheeler has made 28.

But Suárez believes Sunday is the type of outing he can build on.

“Every time I go out there, I give 100% of my effort,” Suárez said. “Hopefully next time it’ll be better.”

A reemergence of Suárez would be big for the Phillies as they inch closer to a potential playoff run. Nola has been inconsistent. Michael Lorenzen and Taijuan Walker have struggled lately. It has left Wheeler and Cristopher Sánchez as the only reliable starters at manager Rob Thomson’s disposal. Sánchez has pitched well, but he is only 26 and has yet to pitch in a full big league season. He’s not a proven entity.

Suárez is. And he is unflappable, which is a good quality to have, especially in a playoff outing.

“He was fantastic,” Thomson said. “He had everything going, really. Curveball was sharp. Changeup was really effective. Fastball looked like he was locating it really well. He made a great play, defensively. He was really, really good.

“That was really his best start since the IL stint. He’ll build off of that. He was pitching with a lot of confidence.”

For the second straight outing, Seranthony Domínguez struggled to keep his team in the game. On Friday, he allowed a two-run home run to Jesús Sánchez to tie the score at 2 in the sixth, and on Sunday, he allowed another two-run home run, this time to De La Cruz, to give the Marlins a 5-3 lead in the eighth.

Before Friday, Domínguez hadn’t allowed a home run since July 30. Thanks to an adjustment to his setup, making it more narrow, he has been able to cut down on walks over the last few weeks, but he still is struggling with swing and miss and his overall command. Domínguez is striking out batters at a rate of 20.9% this season, down from his 29.5% strikeout rate in 2022.

“It’s just command,” Thomson said. “He doesn’t have it right now. We’ve got to figure that one out, because for us to get to where we want to go, he’s got to be one of our top right-handed setup men. He’s not commanding the baseball right now. We’ve got to fix it.”

The Phillies only needed to see their first two pitches to get a 2-0 lead Sunday. Kyle Schwarber saw one pitch from Marlins opener Steven Okert, and hit a single. Turner saw one pitch and hit a two-run home run to center field.

It was Turner’s 24th home run of the season. Schwarber hit a home run of his own in the third, nudging his batting average up to .199 before it settled at .198. Since Aug. 5, the Phillies’ No. 1 and 2 hitters lead baseball in home runs: Schwarber with 16 and Turner with 14.

“I feel like that’s what we both can do,” Turner said. “He obviously hits the homer quite a bit. You guys saw that for the last two years. I think we can change the game in a hurry, and it’s nice putting up those runs early. Trying to put pressure on the other guys.

“I hit the homer today and he was like, ‘That’s my job.’ And then sure enough, in the next at-bat, he did the same thing. It’s been fun hitting up there with him.”

Schwarber went 2-for-4 with a walk, and Turner also went 2-for-4. Despite the production from the top of the lineup, it was an abysmal day for the Phillies with runners in scoring position. They went 1-for-9.

They had two big opportunities, besides the ninth inning, to create more space between themselves and the Marlins. In the seventh inning, the Phillies loaded the bases with two outs, but Bohm struck out. In the eighth inning, Nick Castellanos hit a one-out RBI double to cut his team’s deficit to 5-4 with runners on second and third, but Edmundo Sosa and Schwarber struck out against Scott to end the inning.