The Philadelphia Phillies had a test this week in a four-game series battle against the division-rival, New York Mets. They've passed so far with flying colors, and that's thanks to Phillies' left-hander Ranger Suárez.
Suárez got the ball on Tuesday night and hit the ground running for the best outing of his impressive career.
Suárez completely silenced the Mets to swell the division lead to a season-high nine games, while dropping the magic number to clinch to nine. Across six innings, he allowed only one hit and three walks, while striking out a career-high 12 batters. Suárez also finished with 99 pitches, 60 of which were strikes.
The Phillies needed a statement after their nail-biting 1-0 win on Monday, and the starting pitching has continued to drive this team towards another division title. Suárez was already one of the starters the Phillies had to rely on, but he found another gear this night to solidify in everyone's mind that he can be that kind of pitcher when it comes to the playoffs.
Per MLB.com's Paul Casella, the offense also made a statement thanks to Kyle Schwarber's 50th home run of 2025. The Phillies cruised to an easy 9-3 win at Citizens Bank Park.
Ranger sets a new career high with his 12th strikeout of the night‼️ pic.twitter.com/6wyzU8ua2P
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) September 10, 2025
The Phillies are edging closer to back-to-back NL East titles and Ranger Suárez is a big reason why
Some doubt started to creep in Phillies fans minds with the loss of Zack Wheeler from the rotation. People forget how deep the rotation really is. After Suárez delivered an absolute gem, his season now shapes up to a 12-6 record, 2.77 ERA, 1.15 WHIP and 140 strikeouts over 143 innings pitched. There have been some ups and downs over his second half, but his 2025 campaign overall speaks for itself. More importantly, it diminishes the hopes of the Mets even sniffing a division crown.
The Phillies fought hard for their first division title in over a decade last year. This year, they're not letting their foot off the gas. Citi Field has unfortunately been a house of horrors for them this season, but the Phillies also flex their muscle when it comes to home-field advantage. In fact, no team has been better at home over the last two seasons than the Phillies, with a 101-49 record after Tuesday.
After the Phillies win at home tonight, they are 46 and 23 at home this season. That is the best home record in all of baseball this year. The Phillies are 100-49 at CBP since the start of last season. That is the best home record in baseball over these last two seasons pic.twitter.com/XRG7pbSU8Q
— John Clark (@JClarkNBCS) September 9, 2025
Now, it might be nice to soak in the win with a sizable lead, but it's not time to kick their feet up just yet with a top seed at stake. What they want more than anything is to set themselves up for a first-round bye for a shortened road towards a championship.
Thanks for helping out the cause, Mets.