Stott, Suárez lead the way as Phillies win 5th straight

MIAMI -- Raucous applause rose from the stands behind the Phillies’ dugout as Johan Rojas dove into first base.

Rojas didn’t need to dive -- the closest Marlin was too far from the bag to tag him out -- but he wasn’t taking any chances; it had been a week and a half since his last base hit (Aug. 25).

With the single, Rojas was the fifth straight Phillie to reach base in a four-run sixth inning, cementing Philadelphia’s 5-2 win over Miami in the series opener on Thursday night at loanDepot park.

The cheers from the Philly faithful who made the trek to South Florida were a constant, including “Let’s go Phillies” chants after Bryson Stott, who had put the Phils on the board with an RBI single in the first inning, kicked off the sixth with a one-out moonshot into the second deck in right field.

“Obviously one through nine it's a great lineup,” Marlins starter Adam Oller said. “I'd be lying if I wasn't extremely excited going into that start, just because -- why wouldn't you? I feel like any competitor, especially in the big leagues, wants to face the best lineups out there, and I'd argue the Phillies are one of the best lineups out there.”

While Philadelphia’s offense delivered at the plate, Ranger Suárez arguably stole the show -- though not for the reason one might think. Making his third start since returning from the injured list, Suárez was looking to show that his prior outing (four runs over four innings vs. the Braves) was where he’d been, rather than where he was going.

Turns out, he’s going to shove. Despite all of Suárez’s pitches averaging 1-2 mph slower than usual, he delivered five scoreless frames. Suárez was locating his pitches and maneuvering through Miami’s lineup efficiently, getting even more effective as the game progressed. He finished the night with four strikeouts -- three of which came in the third inning -- while allowing three hits and two walks.

“He was good,” said manager Rob Thomson. “Velo was a little bit down tonight, but he pitched. And him and [Zack] Wheeler and [Aaron] Nola, and even [Cristopher Sánchez] … those guys, they know how to pitch and they know how, when they don't have their good fastball, how to change speeds and get chases. But I thought his stuff was really good.”

The night was a perfect example of Suárez’s growth and his baseball smarts. He was able to navigate which pitches were working better than usual, leaning on his curveball slightly more often (24% vs. his typical 20.3%) while shying a bit away from his sinker (27% vs. 32%).

It also helped that Stott gave Suárez a lead to work with immediately. His bloop RBI single to left field in the first inning was a sign that his approach of late has been working. When Stott is feeling good at the plate, he’s using the whole field, sending liners to left and skying hits pull-side -- like he did on that home run to kick off Philly’s scoring barrage in the sixth.

“We've been hearing it since we were kids, that hitting's contagious,” Stott said. “We just want to keep the line moving and get on base for the next guy. Kody [Clemens] had a big swing, and [Brandon] Marsh staying on pitches and hitting a single and Rojas beating out infield singles, things like that. It just goes a long way throughout the game. … It's big when we have one of those innings, for sure.”

With a 5-0 lead in hand, there’s a chance Suárez could have gone deeper in the game, but the Phillies are keeping him to a strict pitch count. This time, it was 90 pitches. Given that Suárez finished the fifth with 82 pitches, there wasn’t much reason for him to trot out there and face just one batter in the sixth before getting pulled. Philadelphia wants to make sure he’s ready to make at least four more starts before the regular season ends, and that he’s healthy for the postseason.

“I feel like I always say it: He's Ranger,” Stott said. “If he doesn't have a sinker that day, he has seven other pitches it feels like. And he's very smart out there and he knows what guys might be sitting on on certain takes or certain swings, and he just throws what he wants to throw. …

“He's one of our horses, and he takes us a long way through the game, through the season. It's good to have him back.”