Phillies' Jesús Luzardo, Boston's Ranger Suarez duel in reunion: 'He’s like a brother to me'

AL EastBlue JaysOriolesRaysRed SoxYankeesAL CentralGuardiansRoyalsTigersTwinsWhite SoxAL WestAngelsAstrosAthleticsMarinersRangersNL EastBravesMarlinsMetsNationalsPhilliesNL CentralBrewersCardinalsCubsPiratesRedsNL WestDiamondbacksDodgersGiantsPadresRockiesScores & ScheduleStandingsPodcastsThe Windup NewsletterFantasyMLB ProspectsMLB OddsMLB PicksPower RankingsMLB Season The Phillies reunited with Ranger Suarez, who stymied them, but Jesús Luzardo, the lefty they favored long term, helped to secure a fifth straight series win. Paul Rutherford / Getty Images Share articleBOSTON — Two days before Jesús Luzardo and Ranger Suarez took the mound in contrasting colors at Fenway Park, they gathered by the right-field foul pole. Cristopher Sánchez joined, and Andrew Painter briefly stopped by. The pitchers talked a little about baseball but mostly about life, Suarez’s family, how things were going in Boston. “I was really happy to see him,” Luzardo said. Luzardo and Suarez were Phillies teammates for only a year, becoming fast friends — “He’s like a brother to me,” Luzardo said — as they formed a dominant left-handed trio alongside Sánchez. But with Suarez, a beloved Phillie, departing this offseason for a five-year, $130 million contract with the Boston Red Sox, Luzardo effectively took over his role in the rotation. The five-year, $135 million extension Luzardo signed two months ago sealed his place in the rotation and as one of the best left-handed pitchers in the sport. The same could be said for Suarez, though it came an hour’s plane ride away from the city in which he spent his entire career before 2026. It was difficult for the Phillies’ clubhouse and fanbase to wrap their heads around Suarez, who signed with the club at 16 years old in 2012, no longer wearing the red pinstripes. But there he was on the mound Thursday in Boston, in his eighth outing with the Red Sox, “Mr. Rager” thumping through a lean Fenway Park filled with rain-drenched seats and fans rocking ponchos. And he dominated the Phillies’ lineup, allowing no runs and four hits on 76 pitches in 5 1/3 innings. Luzardo, for his part, was also excellent. He recovered from his last outing, in which he gave up five earned runs against the Colorado Rockies, as he looked more comfortable with runners on base, allowing no runs and four hits over six innings (and was assisted by excellent defense) in a 3-1 Phillies victory. It is inadvisable to make too much of one game or one pitching matchup, especially so early into both contracts. But Suarez and Luzardo did what they were supposed to Thursday. Perhaps the situation is working out for both pitchers, who, when at their best, can shine in two talented rotations. Still, that does not ease the sting for the Phillies’ clubhouse, who lost a good friend. They loved Suarez, who had a reputation as a lighthearted jokester. So many of this core’s best memories have featured him: his dancing and singing during postseason celebrations, his embrace with J.T. Realmuto when the Phillies won the pennant in 2022. Even those who didn’t play in the majors with him, like Painter, saw the joy he brought to the game and what it meant for the group. “He was always a vibes guy,” Painter, who rehabbed in Clearwater, Fla., with Suarez last season, said Tuesday. “I don’t think he’s had a bad day in his life, honestly.” But all of those feelings faded when Suarez was no-hitting the Phillies through four innings. “Obviously, we know that the sinker, changeup’s a big pitch for him,” said Kyle Schwarber, who sealed the win with a two-run homer in the eighth. “But the cutter’s underrated, the four-seam, curveball. He plays a lot of different things off each and every single different pitch. … He’s always going to find a way to get weak contacts and outs.” Kyle Schwarber breaks the scoreless tie with his MLB-leading 18th home run 💪 pic.twitter.com/I5V9O8u05U Yes, Suarez is elite, but he also exploited a weakness that’s been evident all season: The Phillies, particularly their right-handed hitters, are mightily struggling to hit left-handed pitching. Their right-handed batters went 3-for-13 against him. It helped the ailing lineup that Luzardo answered every blow. He was able to keep his pitch count from getting out of hand early, which has been a struggle during his time in Philadelphia. He did not let Willson Contreras, who was motioning at second as though he were relaying information to the batter, distract him. Luzardo and interim manager Don Mattingly said they did not think Contreras had any information and that he was just trying to get their attention. “We’ve just got to be careful,” Mattingly said of Luzardo before the start, “like, slowing things down for him sometimes.” It was effective in the fifth inning, after Luzardo hit Caleb Durbin and then Isiah Kiner-Falefa called for time so late that Luzardo was in his windup. He threw to first afterward, then walked Kiner-Falefa. Instead of frustration boiling over, Luzardo ended the inning with a Jarren Duran popout. It was a little moment, but one that in previous starts could have gone sideways. It all helped the Phillies (21-23) to another series win, their fifth straight under Mattingly. The start was a bounce back for Luzardo and for Suarez, who had not pitched in 11 days due to hamstring tightness in his last start. The oft-injured Suarez, who became a full-time starter in 2022, has pitched no more than 157 1/3 innings in a season. That, his age (30 to Luzardo’s 28) and diminished velocity were factors in the Phillies choosing not to extend Suarez. Phillies teammates spent years talking about how crafty Suarez was. Yet they still struggled upon seeing it themselves. Thursday was frustrating. But when the Phillies remember the good times — the champagne toasts, the boisterous October clubhouses, the laughs shared on the field in the clubhouse — Suarez will always be there. His pinpoint command and deception being utilized against the Phillies hasn’t changed that. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms