Phillies announce pair of roster moves ahead of August 19 game against the Nationals

The Philadelphia Phillies are in the thick of a race for the top Wild Card spot in the National League. Now it’s August and the dog days are in full effect barking away. But the club is focused on hitting their stride at the right time, similar to last year. A big part of that run was key pieces staying healthy. This year is a little different as Ranger Suárez lands on the injury list again this season. 

Suárez is going on the injured list with a right hamstring strain. The move is retroactive to Wednesday, August 16th. Rob Thomson and the rest of the clubhouse will welcome right-handed reliever Andrew Bellatti back to the big league club from Lehigh Valley in the meantime. Bellatti has a 2.86 ERA and 1.31 WHIP  in 22 innings for the Iron Pigs. Bellatti has appeared in eleven games and has only given up two home runs. 

A hamstring is usually a tricky injury with any athlete but thankfully Suárez doesn’t need to use them for hitting and baserunning. Also, his right leg is not the base leg of his windup since he’s left-handed. The problem, most likely, is that he can’t repeat his delivery like he normally would. 

Now the Michael Lorenzen trade, in spite of his first blowup inning as a Phillie (6 runs allowed in the bottom of the fourth inning), looks even better now. The depth was necessary as well as appropriate to go out and acquire. Maybe there’s a Matt Strahm start in the time where Suárez is out  Who knows, this stuff changes on a day-to-day basis to ensure the club makes the right moves to get into the playoffs in the best position and health they possibly can. The pitching staff as a whole has been a strength of the team and once again they will be leaned on with Suárez out.