Ranger Suarez

But the altered schedule put manager Rob Thomson and the Phillies in position to use their better arms earlier in the series, with Suarez starting Game 3 ...

The Phils are now favored to win the World Series. The scenario the Phillies are now in is simple: win two more games and they're World Champions. Suarez retired Peña with a groundball to short on his next pitch and was out of the inning quickly after punching out Alvarez. It's something Phillies fans have grown accustomed to but is now being displayed on the national stage. The help Suarez received defensively and offensively set him up for success against an Astros offense that clearly wanted to attack him early. If Altuve starts off the game with another hit, first pitch, there's no telling how that game ends up going." "If that ball falls it could change the entire game. "It actually made me think, 'If we're starting like this, we're only going to finish even better.' I had great defense throughout the whole game -- (Alec) Bohm, the middle infielders, Casty, they all did a really good job." Not only did the schedule change help the Phils in a pivotal Game 3, but it also means Suarez will be ready for Game 7 on regular rest if needed. He retired the first five batters he faced, allowed back-to-back singles, then set down nine in a row. Altuve, Jeremy Peña, Yordan Alvarez, Alex Bregman and Kyle Tucker went a combined 0 for 11 against him with only two balls leaving the infield. The Phillies have won every game he's entered this postseason.

PHILADELPHIA — Zack Wheeler has about 75 pitches left in his tender right arm for this baseball season, 70 that might represent his true talent, ...

And if there is to be a Game 7, there will be Suarez. Even if Suarez were to sputter Tuesday, the Phillies had Nola, who has shed a reputation as a late-season risk, ready for Game 4. “I just try to go out there and have fun,” Suarez said. And on not one of those pitches did he seem ill-adapted for the moment. That showed early when he needed a total of two pitches to subdue Jose Altuve and another seven, including a sharp curve ball, to strike out Yordan Alvarez hacking. A hair fortunate they hadn’t fallen into an 0-2 hole considering how Nola and Wheeler sputtered in Texas, the Phillies could not be backed into needing to win three of the final four games, including a possible two on the road.

Piedecuesta, Venezuela native Ranger Suárez will start Game 3 of the World Series for the Philadelphia Phillies.

A win tonight, will line him up to start in a potential Game 7. Ranger Suárez is no longer looking back as he tries to give the Phillies a 2-1 series lead. That start taught the Piedecuesta, Venezuela, native a lesson in preparation. The Houston Astros hand him his worst beating of the year in his last start of the season. Now, the 27-year-old lefty is set to start in the Fall Classic. Then, as if playing catch, he tosses the ball from glove hand to pitching hand and delivers a strike to first base to record the out.