Phillies' Rotation the Unsung Hero of Postseason

The Philadelphia Phillies rotation of Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, and Ranger Suárez has been on another level in the 2022 postseason.

Author:
Alex Carr
Oct 26, 2022 3:00 PM EDT

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Philadelphia Phillies

Over the last few days, Philadelphia Phillies fans have celebrated their team's World Series berth by watching and re-watching iconic highlights from the Phillies' remarkable postseason run.

The Bryce Harper home run, the Rhys Hoskins bat spike, the Nick Castellanos sliding catch... all moments that have enshrined themselves within the timeless annuls of Phillies history.

Unfortunately, it can be a bit harder to assemble a gripping highlight reel full of pitching performances, and one of the primary reasons the Phillies can call themselves National League Champions has been the strength of their rotation.

Phillies' starting pitchers are producing at a marvel-worthy level this October. The trio of Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola, and Ranger Suárez have combined for 51.2 innings of 2.29 ERA ball, while striking out 51 batters, and walking 11 through three postseason series. Their precision and grit has set the Phillies up for victory in nearly every one of their 10 appearances.

Zack Wheeler has led the rotational charge, appearing nearly unhittable. He heads up postseason leaderboards in strikeouts and innings pitched, while his minuscule 0.51 WHIP is tops among remaining postseason starters, as is his eye-popping .118 batting average against. His ERA is second only to Houston's Framber Valdez, who has logged half as many innings pitched.

Aaron Nola has been as good a number two as the Phillies could have asked for this season, and that hasn't faltered in the postseason. Outside of a singular messy outing versus San Diego, Nola has kept offenses on lockdown. Two of his three appearances this postseason resulted in zeros, culminating in a 3.12 ERA across 17.1 innings of work. In typical Nola fashion, he's walked just three batters this fall.

Despite not pitching as deep into his starts as his rotation counterparts, Ranger Suárez has been solid for the Phillies. His first start against the Braves was sloppy, as he walked five batters across 3.1 innings of work. However, the cool-and-collected southpaw bounced back for a stellar five innings versus the Padres in the NLCS, and recorded the save in Game 5, securing the Phillies a spot in the Fall Classic.

It's been an amazing run for these three pitchers.

Zack Wheeler has been every bit the ace the Phillies expected him to be when they signed him as a free agent three years ago.

Aaron Nola lived through the good, bad, and ugly of this Phillies club. Seven years later, he's brought his team back to the World Series.

Ranger Suárez, who the Phillies signed out of Venezuela in 2012, was labeled as a left-handed reliever with minimal ceiling as a prospect. He now serves as a massive part of the future of the team's rotation.

The Phillies wouldn't be here were it not for every single one of these three arms. They played a major part in their regular season, have pitched their club to a World Series berth, and will play a major role in this organization's future success for years to come.

Four wins separate the Phillies from history. Four solid starts from either of these three electric arms. Seems doable, doesn't it?