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Red Sox’s Ranger Suarez gets brutally honest after facing Phillies
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- Red Sox’s Ranger Suarez gets brutally honest after facing Phillies
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Boston Red Sox left-hander Ranger Suarez gave his former team fits Thursday night, but the Philadelphia Phillies pulled away late for a 3-1 win at Fenway Park. Suarez, making his first appearance since May 3 after missing a start with a strained hamstring, tossed 5 1/3 scoreless innings and struck out eight while stretching his scoreless streak to 19 consecutive innings.
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Pitching on 10 days of rest, Suarez looked sharp from the opening inning. He retired the first 11 batters he faced and did not allow a hit until Alec Bohm singled to begin the fifth. Philadelphia threatened later in that inning by loading the bases with two outs, but Suarez escaped the jam by striking out Edmundo Sosa . He exited in the sixth inning after throwing 76 pitches, with wet weather conditions and his recent hamstring issue factoring into the decision.
The outing was the fifth time in eight starts this season that Suarez has not allowed a run, tying Jose Soriano for the most such starts in MLB this year. Despite facing the organization where he spent his entire major league career before signing a five-year, $130 million contract with Boston in January, Suarez insisted there was no added motivation .
"Not really," said Suarez. "I went out there like (it was) another game. They had their plans and now I'm here in Boston and I'm happy here."
Across the diamond, Jesus Luzardo matched Suarez inning for inning. Luzardo rebounded from a sluggish previous start by allowing four hits and one walk over six shutout innings while striking out four. The Phillies signed Luzardo to a five-year, $135 million extension earlier this season after allowing Suarez to leave in free agency.
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The game remained scoreless until the eighth inning when Kyle Schwarber crushed a two-run homer off reliever Tyler Samaniego . The 417-foot blast, Schwarber's MLB-leading 18th homer of the season, gave Philadelphia control for good. Schwarber has now homered seven times in his last seven games, becoming the first Phillies player since Trea Turner in 2023 to reach that mark over a seven-game stretch.
Boston avoided the shutout on Wilyer Abreu 's RBI single in the eighth, but the Red Sox still dropped two of three games in both their series against the Tampa Bay Rays and Philadelphia during the homestand.
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