On Saturday, Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Ranger Suarez had to leave the game early. With two outs in the second inning, Alec Burleson hit a rocket right back up the middle that hit Suarez.
Suarez did his best to save himself, but the ball ended up hitting him in the hand. He was able to recover and get out at first, but he looked to be in immense pain afterward.
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Early word from the stadium is that Suarez was removed from the game due to a left-hand contusion. He will likely be considered day-to-day until he gets some testing done.
“Ranger Suárez is not coming back out for the third inning, after he was hit by a 106.1 mph comebacker in the arm/chest area in the top of the second.”
Per Philadelphia Inquirer’s Alex Coffey, the ball came off Burleson’s bat at 106.1 mph. Hopefully, that did not do a considerable amount of damage because Suarez has been one of the most dominant pitchers this season.
Ranger Suarez has been electric for the Phillies this season
Ranger Suarez has been one of the best starting pitchers across Major League Baseball this year. He holds a 9-1 record with a 1.70 ERA while striking out 79 batters in 74 innings of work.
He leads all pitchers in ERA and is tied with Kansas City Royals pitcher Seth Lugo for most wins. Suarez also leads all pitchers with a 0.80 WHIP.
He has been one of the reasons why the Phillies have started the season off so strong. They hold one of the best records, being one of the few teams that have gotten to 40 wins already.
A lengthy IL trip for Surez could hurt Philadelphia. However, Suarez is not the only arm that has been pitching well. Zack Wheeler, Cristopher Sanchez, and Aaron Nola all have an ERA under 3.10, making Philadelphia’s rotation one of the strongest in the division.
