Cool Hand Suárez ready to deal in NLDS opener

ATLANTA -- Phillies left-hander Ranger Suárez watched teammates Zack Wheeler and Aaron Nola dominate the Cardinals last weekend in the NL Wild Card Series.

Lessons can be learned, he said.

“Something that I learn from them all the time is how they attack hitters,” Suárez said Monday through the team’s interpreter at Truist Park. “It’s just amazing how they do it.”

Suárez will have the opportunity to follow in Wheeler and Nola’s footsteps on Tuesday afternoon in Game 1 of the NL Division Series against the Braves. Suárez is slated to pitch Game 1, Wheeler will pitch Game 2 and Nola will pitch Game 3.

If necessary, Game 4 could be left-hander Bailey Falter, right-hander Kyle Gibson or right-hander Noah Syndergaard. Falter pitched the best of the three down the stretch, but the Braves ranked third in baseball with a .782 OPS against left-handed pitching, slashing .265/.338/.444 against them. Atlanta had a .753 OPS against righties, slashing .249/.310/.443. It would not be a surprise to see Syndergaard or Gibson out there, either.

If necessary, Game 5 would be Suárez again.

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“In the playoffs, in a lot of these situations, you worry about [Game] 4 when you get there,” Gibson said. “You see who’s throwing it, who’s freshest. It’s just trying to be ready to pitch whenever they tell me to pitch.”

Looking at the schedule, Philadelphia clearly will need somebody other than Wheeler or Nola to step up and pitch well as many as three times in this best-of-five series. The Phillies are confident that Suárez is up for the challenge. He went 10-7 with a 3.65 ERA in 29 starts this season, including a 2.95 ERA in his last 14 games. It will be the first postseason start of his career, but teammates believe he is suited for the moment because nobody seems to be more relaxed on or off the field.

Suárez is ready.

“Ever since I was a kid, I’ve been dreaming about this moment,” he said. “So to have the opportunity [Tuesday], knowing that the team trusts me enough to do this, it’s very special to me.”

Off the field, Suárez might be one of the goofiest, silliest Phillies in the clubhouse. He is always laughing and joking with teammates.

He is always smiling.

On the mound, he is the coolest dude on the field.

Philadelphia believes it will serve him well on Tuesday.

“We have a lot of guys on the pitching staff that are very low heart-rate guys,” Gibson said. “[Suárez] just never really seems to let anything rattle him. That’s why I’m sure he’s so confident in those spots.”

“I think the goofiness and the lightheartedness is huge just to keep the game in check for him,” Nick Castellanos said. “For some people, when the game becomes too serious, it can become more difficult. Ranger is somebody who has a happy heart. The calmness in his personality never leaves him, and you can see it [in] the way he fields his position.”

“I'm not sure he'll sweat tomorrow,” Rhys Hoskins said. “That's just the slow heartbeat that he has. He's never in a hurry.”

Suárez knows the Braves well, but then they know him. He went 1-2 with a 3.21 ERA in five starts against them this year, including one earned run in 12 innings in two starts against Atlanta last month.

“I try not to think too much about that challenge,” he said. “It's going to be a tough battle.”