There were valid questions to be asked about Ranger Suárez, both long- and short-term, 12 days ago, after a 10-hit, six-run outing against the Reds continued a long second-half trend for the Phillies’ even-keeled southpaw.
Suárez has answered them since. And the way he’s done it has not been particularly fluky.
After tying a career-high with 10 strikeouts on Monday, Suárez one-upped himself on Sunday, punching out 11 Nationals over seven shutout innings to lead the Phillies in the rubber match.
The three-hit, no-walk outing was, by sheer line, his best start of the season, which saw nine straight gems from late May to early July.