Philadelphia Phillies Get Rocky Start by Ranger Suarez in His Return From Injury

Ranger Suarez returned to the mound for the first time this season, but things didn't go smoothly for the Philadelphia Phillies star.

May 4, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies manager Rob Thomson (59) takes the ball from pitcher Ranger Suarez (55) during the fourth inning against the Arizona Diamondbacks at Citizens Bank Park / Eric Hartline-Imagn Images

The Philadelphia Phillies are getting their first taste of what their true rotation might look like.

After Dave Dombrowski acquired Jesus Luzardo to shore up the fifth spot this past winter, an injury suffered by Ranger Suarez in the spring prevented the Phillies from seeing what this group could do during the early going of the season.

But Suarez returned, and with a chance to secure a sweep for Philadelphia on Sunday, the fan favorite took the mound for the first time in 2025.

Unfortunately, things didn't go well.

After recording four strikeouts in back-to-back three up, three down innings, Suarez was hammered by the Arizona Diamondbacks in innings three and four.

He walked the second batter of the third frame and then gave up a single, an RBI double and a two-run RB single. Then in the fourth, he immediately recorded two outs before allowing a single and issuing a walk, setting up a two-run RBI double, an RBI infield single and an RBI single before he was pulled.

On the day, Suarez was charged with seven earned runs on seven hits in 3 2/3 innings of work, striking out six and walking two.

It wasn't quite the return he wanted, but his underlying statistics looked positive.

Last year, Suarez averaged 91.9 mph on his four-seam fastball and 90.8 mph on his sinker, and in this one, his four-seamer sat at 91.5 mph with it peaking at 93.2, while his sinker was 91.8 mph on average with the fastest being 92.6.

That's a good sign that he's healthy and has put his back stiffness behind him.

The next step for Suarez is regaining his control and not allowing things to snowball on him, both things that will come with the more starts he gets.

Overall, it was a disappointing outing for Suarez, but there was plenty to get excited about when it comes to how this rotation might look with the talented southpaw back in the mix.

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