MIAMI – When left-hander Ranger Suarez came off the injured list on Aug. 24 and threw five strong innings against the Royals, allowing one run and recording six strikeouts, the sigh of relief in the Phillies’ executive suite, clubhouse and dugout seemed about the size of a Category 2 tropical storm off the coast of Florida.

Taijuan Walker was just working his way out of the rotation and into the bullpen at the time, and the fifth spot in the rotation was uncertain, to say the least. With Suarez at his best and Cy Young candidates Zack Wheeler, Aaron Nola and Christopher Sanchez, the Phillies were in the home stretch and in an enviable position heading into the postseason.

This feeling of quiet elation lasted exactly six days.

In his next appearance on the mound, Suarez, who was 10-1 with a 1.81 earned run average (ERA) in his first 13 starts, was unhittable through the first two innings … before allowing four runs on five hits, including two home runs, over the next two innings before heading to the showers.

Everyone insisted there was no physical reason for a pitcher who had already sat out twice with back problems to snap so quickly and so completely. So, yes, the just-turned-29-year-old had something to prove when he faced the Marlins at LoanDepot Park on Thursday night.

And the Phillies breathed a sigh of relief. Once again.

Suarez pitched five scoreless innings with three hits and two walks in what was ultimately an easy 5-2 victory for the Phillies. He also had four strikeouts.

There are still questions to be answered. His velocity had dropped a bit, with his fastballs hovering around two miles per hour. Manager Rob Thomson took him off the field after just 82 pitches, meaning the bullpen had to play four more innings. But it was undoubtedly a step in the right direction.

“He pitched,” Thomson said, emphasizing the second word. “Him and Wheeler and Nola. Those guys know how to pitch when they’re missing their good fastball. They know how to change tempo and create chases. I think he used more of his secondary pitches than he normally does, just because he didn’t have the speed. He’s smart. He knows what he’s doing out there.”

Suarez was within a slight 90-pitch limit, which is why he came out at that exact time.

“I didn’t want to send him out for a single shot and I felt like he was good right there. Next time he can probably get 95, almost 100.”

The manager acknowledged he was more than fleetingly interested in seeing how Suarez would rebound. “I was,” he said. “He pitched better tonight than he did last time, so we’re making progress.”

Suarez was also happy with his performance. “My breaking balls worked today, so why stop throwing them?” he said. “That’s why we work so hard in between. To put the bad starts behind us and create new, better things and make them happen.”

“You’re not always 100 percent at your velocity. That’s what I had and I worked with it and it worked well and we got the results we wanted. I feel good and I think I’m on my way (to being able to pitch longer in games).”

The Phillies have also transformed. They have now won five games in a row and 10 of their last 12 games, extending their lead over the second-place Braves in the National League East to eight games while reducing their magic number to 15.

After winning an abbreviated two-game series against the last-place Blue Jays in Toronto, they picked up where they left off against the last-place Marlins before an announced crowd of 9,355. That’s not a typo, by the way.

They had Miami starter Adam Oller in trouble early, loaded the bases and managed just one out in the fourth inning without scoring, but held on to a 1-0 lead before finally building a lead by scoring four in the sixth inning, knocking out Oller in the process.

Second baseman Bryson Stott is coming back from a midseason slump. He had an RBI single in the first inning and then sparked a four-run rally with a home run to center field in the sixth. In his last 17 games, he’s 17-of-56 (.304) with three home runs.

“His at-bats have been really good lately,” Thomson said. “He’s really tough and every now and then he’ll come forward and hit one high to his right. It’s nice to see him hit the ball out of the ballpark.”

Stott said: “I think I’m in a pretty good position right now. For me, it’s less about feel and more about where the ball goes. When I use the whole field and hit line drives to the left, that’s when I’m at my best.”

His home run was quickly followed by a walk to JT Realmuto and a single by Brandon Marsh, convincing Marlins manager Skip Schumaker to bring in left-hander Anthony Veneziano to face left-hander Kody Clemens.

Clemens brought both runners home with a double to left. Johan Rojas reached first base on an infield single and Clemens advanced, scoring when Veneziano hurled a wild pitch past catcher Nick Fortes as Rojas was stealing second base.

After that, it was all over except for the screaming. That one, coming from behind the first base dugout as Matt Strahm was one out away from his third save of the season, may sound familiar.

EAGLE. . .

Subscribe wherever you get your podcasts:
Apple Podcasts | Youtube Music | Spotify | Stitcher | Art19 | RSS | Watch on YouTube