Phillies News: Alec Bohm injury update, J.T. Realmuto, Ranger Suárez, Austin Hays

The Philadelphia Phillies continue to chug along toward the postseason. After their 16-2 thrashing of the Miami Marlins on Friday night they’ve now won six games in a row and 12 of their last 16. The most impressive thing about this run is that they’ve done it despite being battered and bruised, with the marathon of the 162-game MLB season taking its toll.

First baseman Bryce Harper has been managing right elbow and wrist problems that have seemingly affected his home run swing — he hasn't hit a homer in 102 plate appearances. Harper and the Phillies say it's nothing to worry about and he's not going on the IL. The Phillies also dodged a bullet after he got hit by a pitch on the left elbow in Toronto this week and left the game.

As for the rest of the Phillies' infirmary, here are some updates from this week.

Phillies News: Alec Bohm injury update, J.T. Realmuto, Ranger Suárez, Austin Hays

Another Phillie who has been battling an injury of his own is third baseman Alec Bohm, who was finally placed on the 10-day IL on Friday after missing six games with a left hand strain. The Phillies kept hoping that Bohm could avoid a stint on the injured list, but the longer he was out of the lineup, the more perplexing the decision not to put him on the shelf became.

We got some more clarity on the situation before Friday’s game against the Miami Marlins.

According to The Philadelphia Inquirer’s Scott Lauber, Bohm described the feeling like someone hitting his hand with a hammer when he swings. Yikes!

While Bohm is eligible to come off the IL on Sept. 13, it doesn’t sound like that’s a realistic time frame, unfortunately.

“It’s probably going to be longer than that,” manager Rob Thomson said on Friday, per Lauber, who also notes that the Phillies skipper said Bohm will need to go through a full hitting progression, which might include a rehab assignment.

J.T. Realmuto leaves Friday’s game with knee injury

J.T. Realmuto left Friday’s game with the Marlins after fouling a ball off of his left knee in the top of the second inning. After recovering from the impact, the Phillies catcher remained in the game and finished his at-bat with an RBI single.

After catching the bottom of the second and third innings, the Phillies lifted Realmuto with Garrett Stubbs pinch-hitting in the top of the fourth.

The Phillies called it a left knee contusion, and after the game Thomson said that they would evaluate Realmuto again on Saturday. He also noted that the starting catcher already had a day off scheduled for Saturday.

Should we be concerned about Ranger Suárez's drop in velocity?

Ranger Suárez made his third start since coming off the IL on Thursday against the Marlins. He tossed five innings of shutout ball, giving up three hits and two walks with four strikeouts. While the results look good in the box score, the curious thing about the start was that the lefty's velocity was noticeably down right from the get-go.

Thomson and the Phillies didn't seem concerned during or after the game, which the Phillies won handily 5-2.

Suárez's sinker, curveball, four-seamer and changeup were all down at least 2.0 mph from his season average, while his cutter was 1.2 mph slower. It didn't seem to matter against the woeful Miami lineup, as he still generated eight whiffs in his 82 pitches.

“He pitched,” Thomson said after the game, per Paul Hagen of NBC Sports Philadelphia. “Him and Wheeler and Nola. Those guys know how to pitch when they don’t have their good fastball. They know how to change speeds and get chases. I think he used more of his secondary pitches than he usually does just because he didn’t have the velo. He’s smart. He knows what he’s doing out there.”

The Phillies have been treating Suárez with kid gloves since his return from dealing with a sore lower back and he was on another pitch count on Thursday, reportedly around 90. Hopefully they can loosen the reigns a bit as we get closer to the postseason and get him ready for October baseball.

Austin Hays lands on the 10-day IL, again

Among the stranger ailments to befall the Phillies recently is Austin Hays' sudden placement on the 10-day IL on Thursday with a kidney infection. The team announced the move before the series opener against the Marlins, retroactive to Sept. 2.

“Obviously I’m not a doctor, but they're telling me that it's hard to tell how long it takes,” Thomson said on Thursday, per MLB.com.

According to the Mayo Clinic, kidney infections can begin to clear up within days of treatment, but antibiotics might be needed for a week or more. This could be a lengthy absence for the Phillies' trade deadline acquisition, who has had a hard time proving himself on the field after dealing with a previous IL stint for a strained hamstring.

Whenever Hays returns to the field, he'll only have a short time to prove himself ready for the postseason in the now-crowded Phillies outfield.