Phillies’ Ranger Suárez makes history pitching against Rangers
The Philadelphia Phillies lost to the Texas Rangers on Tuesday night, but for people who love baseball history, such as myself, it was a cool night.
In the Phillies’ 140th season, and over a century of Major League Baseball as we know it, it’s pretty cool to still have firsts.
In this case, it was Ranger Suárez, the only player in MLB history named Ranger, facing the Rangers. Fun fact, he also has a sister named Rangerlin.
Being as though he is the first and only player with the first name Ranger in the history of MLB, Ranger Suarez will be the first Ranger to play against the Texas Rangers tonight.
— PhilliesNotes (@PhilliesNotes) May 3, 2022
h/t @EliasSports
Unfortunately, the Rangers tagged Ranger (it’s going to get confusing quickly) for three earned runs. He stayed in the game for five innings but gave up six hits and issued a pair of walks.
As DJ Khaled would say, congratulations, he played himself.
Suárez hasn’t had an easy season so far. Over his four starts in April, he allowed nine earned runs on 22 hits in 18 1/3 total innings. This stands in stark contrast to his work last year, both as a reliever and later, in the starting rotation. He finished the 2021 season with a 1.36 ERA over 39 games, including 12 starts, 13 games finished, four saves, and a complete-game shutout.
However, Suárez had an even more difficult readjustment period after the lockout than most players, as he was only able to pitch twice during spring training. Getting his work visa was a frustrating endeavor and prevented him from reporting to camp on time, delaying his ramping up to the season.
5 Phillies who outperformed expectations in April
The Philadelphia Phillies went 11-11 in April, but here are five players who outperformed expectations, including Alec Bohm and Kyle Schwarber.