Who needs four-leafed clovers and rabbit’s feet when you have Ranger?
Forget Jason. The real terror on Friday the 13th is Ranger Suárez. Yes, it might seem odd to compare the genial hurler to a horror movie monster. But it would seem apt to the Blue Jays, whom he sent scattering and shrieking like a pack of terrified teens. Rumor has it that plans for a crossover sequel pitting Ranger against Freddy Krueger were canceled after the withdrawal of the sweater-wearing slasher, who realized he would be thoroughly outmatched.
The proceedings for tonight’s game began with a quick inning from Suárez. In the Philadelphia half of the inning, Kyle Schwarber extracted a free pass from Jays starter Kevin Gausman, and Alec Bohm lined one to left for the home team’s first hit of the game. A lineout from Nick Castellanos and a strikeout from Max Kepler concluded the first as a scoreless affair.
The second began with Ernie Clement reaching base on a bobbled ball and error from Otto Kemp, occupying first for the first time as a Phillie. You need not tell the baseball gods that you are playing your inaugural game at a new position; they know, and will ensure that you are tested properly. Fortunately, these hardball divinities can be occasionally merciful, especially when their supplicant is a rookie. Clement did not advance further than first thanks to deft work from Ranger Suárez and a diving catch from Kepler.
Still, Kemp clearly felt the need to make up for the mistake, which he did by smacking a fastball to right for a double (his first extra-base hit in the bigs) advancing J.T. Realmuto, who had made it to base on a walk. Brandon Marsh then sent a ball arcing into the sky. As it descended towards the illuminated signage on the right field wall, Toronto’s Addison Barger either couldn’t quite reach it or couldn’t quite see it against the lights, leaping and missing. Realmuto scored, but an excellent throw from center to second to home put a sliding Kemp out. Trea Turner walked, and then Schwarber came to the plate. He sent a four-seamer to deep center, where Myles Straw leapt and, like Barger, came up just short. Unlike Barger, the ball he couldn’t quite reach ended up over the fence. Schwarber’s 22nd roundtripper of the year thus delivered to the Phillies a 4-0 lead.
Suárez continued to stymie the avian visitors, keeping them to no more than a single baserunner per frame through the sixth. Gausman, unable to keep pace, was replaced with Mason Fluharty in the Philadelphia half of the inning. He induced an out from Kepler, then gave up a trio of singles to Bryson Stott, Realmuto, and Kemp, putting the Phillies up by one more (and giving Kemp his first RBI).
Suárez faltered in the seventh— which is to say that he allowed two baserunners before ending the inning without allowing a run. At that pace —horror of horrors— he would’ve put three Torontos on base before stranding them all if allowed to take the mound in the eighth. But he was replaced with Joe Ross instead. Ross put two runners on with walks, but preserved the shutout.
The bottom eighth began with a pair of two-baggers: a leadoff bash to right by Kepler and a subsequent sharp grounder straight up the third base line from Realmuto to score him. Stott walked to worsen the situation for the beleaguered bluebirds. A bobbled grounder turned what ought to have been the sweet relief of a twin killing into just a single out. If they’d gotten both, the subsequent shallow fly from Marsh would’ve ended the inning, but instead it was just enough to serve as a sacrifice, scoring Realmuto. Left fielder Davis Schneider and backstop Alejandro Kirk did their best to prevent the Phillies from putting another on the board when Turner hit a liner, but Stott’s slide was perfect, and the Fightins had an eighth run.
Taijuan Walker took the ninth. He allowed a single baserunner on a deflected ground ball, and otherwise shut the visitors from our northern neighbor down.
Skeptics would say that the supposed connection between Friday the 13th and misfortune is no more than superstition. They may very well be right. But tonight’s positive outcome for the good guys is not evidence of that. After all, the presence of Ranger Suárez is enough to cancel out even the most inauspicious omens.
The Phillies are 40-29. They’ll continue the series against Toronto tomorrow at 4:05.