We’re ignoring that first start.
Two pitchers, both alike in dignity, in fair Cleveland where we lay our scene.
Both would pitch beautifully. One would see his team win. The other would see his team lose in a blowout. Such is the way of the world.
The Phillies went down quietly against Tanner Bibee in the 1st, sending Ranger Suárez to the mound for his second start of the season. He got two quick outs, then walked José Ramirez. Ramirez, though, made the classic blunder of attempting to run on J.T. Realmuto, and was promptly sent back to the dugout for his troubles.
The Phillies continued to struggle against Bibee, putting no baserunners on in their first three innings. But Bibee was not unbreakable: the fourth saw the Phillies break through with a trio of consecutive base hits. Trea Turner started by slapping a grounder the opposite way for a single. Bryce Harper followed up by smacking a ball off the left field wall for a double, and Schwarber then blooped one into shallow left, too shallow even for the excellent Steven Kwan to reach it. Turner scored.
The Phillies seemed like they’d continue to hit Bibee in the fifth, as Brandon Marsh doubled to right, but all of the less-bearded Philadelphias found themselves stymied. Bryson Stott dueled Bibee over 9 pitches, ultimately succumbing to the sweeper for a swinging strike 3.
The next two innings passed in a largely sedate fashion, with both starters nimbly handling their assigned foes. The bottom seventh saw drama in the form of a review, with a two-out Ramirez steal attempt and subsequent Turner tag becoming the subject of umpire wrangling. The call on the field was that Ramirez was safe, but Turner was so confident he made the tag that he headed straight to the dugout. The umpires did not agree, and he was forced to return to his post.
The alliterative Jakob Junis took over for Bibee to start the 8th. Unlike his predecessor, his appearance was not notable for its longevity. He induced two quick outs, allowed a single to Turner, and was then promptly pulled for Joey Cantillo, who would deny Harper the platoon advantage. Platoon advantage or not, throwing a fastball to Harper near the middle is a poor idea: the resulting round tripper gave the Phillies a 3-0 lead. Schwarber and Nick Castellanos then provided consecutive singles, and Max Kepler hit a ball off the wall in the left-field power alley, just over the outstretched glove of the leaping Kwan, to score two. Realmuto worked a walk. Marsh knocked in a single. Sosa did the same. The Guardians, steadfast, stubborn, or both, would not pull Cantillo. He eventually struck out Stott to end the ordeal. The Phillies thus batted around, added 6 runs to their total, and made Bibee’s nearly-airtight performance vanish like mist over Lake Erie.
The Phillies sent Carlos Hernández to replace Suárez. He walked the first batter, then saw to it that the next three became outs.
The dawn of the ninth revealed that Cantillo’s toils were not over, as he was asked to finish out the game so as not to burden the other bullpen arms. Reasonable, given the 7-run deficit, and there’s no reason to suspect it was punitive. Still, it felt uncomfortable to watch, even though it didn’t involve one of our own; it reminded me of the scene in A Christmas Story where Ralphie hears his pal Schwartz being read the riot act by his mother over a false allegation of cussing. We’re sorry it was you, and glad it wasn’t us.
Joe Ross was tasked with getting the final three outs and did, though he allowed some basepath traffic that spoiled the shutout. Final score: Phillies 7, Guardians 1.
Ranger Suárez threw a gem and is rewarded with a victory. Bibee threw a gem, and is saddled with a loss. There is no deeper meaning to that. On other days the Phillies have been the ones letting their starter down, and on other days the Guardians bullpen and bats have matched their starter’s excellence. So we’ll leave it with this: welcome back Ranger, and we’re glad the Phillies were on the right end of this one.
The Phillies are 23-16. The series concludes tomorrow at 7:10.