GDT 8/1/25 Detroit Tigers (Flaherty) @ Philadelphia Phillies (Suárez, Ra)

[julio]

Four pitch, three out save. SLAM THE DOOR!

[DurhamBull]

FOUR Pitches!!!

Technically that's 33% more than necessary. Very inefficient.

[bkox]

FOUR Pitches!!!

guess hes available for tomorrow afternoon

[BostonRoss]

That was really fun!

[zambonir]

Best win of the year?

[LoneStarPhan]

I confess that I was a nonbeliever going into the bottom of the seventh. Phillies offense was doing nothing to that point and the pitching was okay, but not perfect. A three-run lead looked huge. The pinch hitters came through in the seventh (Kemp single, Bader walk) and they score three to tie. Tigers come back with the home run to retake the lead, but Phillies offense score two to take the lead for first time after 8 innings. Then Duran shuts the door. No messing around, it gets out-out-out to nail down the win.

Great come back and great win. Decent start for Ranger going 7 innings giving up 3 runs on 4 hits, 0 walks, 5 Ks. Suarez unfortunately gave up two singles and the two-out home run in the third for all the runs allowed. Still, a quality start. Kerkering loses the lead on the homer in the 8th, but gets the win on the Phillies second come back. Great save for Duran in his first appearance in a Phillies uniform.

[HopeSpringsEternal]

Dave Dombrowski gets the assist tonight.

[tom81]

Broad Street Baseball on Instagram: "This is literally the coolest thing I have...

This is really fun!

[el-pietro]

His entrance was longer than his outing! I loved it! My favourite bit was Kruks little laugh as he realised quite how cool it was.

[fish]

I think Duran simultaneously made me his biggest fan and a Catholic in one appearance. Yeah, that acquisition was a good idea.

[Austinfan]

Well, it was one outing, but what a way to start your Phillies career!

I think it's time to exile Kepler, platoon Kemp/Marsh in LF, Bader in CF.

One worrisome note, Suarez down to 89-90, has to be pin point perfect when his velo drops.

[LoneStarPhan]

Suarez pitched seven innings. Two singles and the home run in the third inning. He didn't walk anyone in the seven innings and only gave up one additional hit in the six scoreless innings. A pretty good outing, so even with his velocity down, he was very effective. But a decline in velocity is something that is of concern. So far, he has continued to pitch well.

[phillychuck]

They honestly need to find a way to skip Ranger a time or two coming down the stretch.

I don’t know how anyone ever hits any of Duran’s pitches...they are all about 10 mph above other similar MLB pitches on average, and the splinker and the curve move like a foot or more off initial line. Hitters have just got to be guessing. Last out was hit pretty hard, to be fair.

McCarthy, it’s Jo -ahn, not Jo-hahn.

[Patchmk88]

I think his velocity has been down in that range since before the all star break.

[dicemen99]

Duran threw four pitches - all splitters. One of them hit 100. We haven't seen his fastball yet.

How good does this make you feel?

[dicemen99]

Just need to add to the sentiment. How are we feeling now about getting Duran instead of, say, Bednar or Doval? And if, somehow, the Phils actually make it to the Series and face the Yankees, how comfortable would you be throwing Bednar out there in the highest of high leverage situations in Game 6?

Relax, guys, I know it's early. Just want to savor the feeling.

[Austinfan]

What worries me about the velocity is what i saw with Nola.
I think there's a tendency to overthrow when velocity drops (maybe subconscious) and this hurts command.
So that in Ranger's previous starts, he was struggling with command after being pin point for most of the season, and definitely an issue with Nola.

Good sign that Ranger adjusted, but I think they have to accept he's not a 32 start, 200 IP guy, and use him accordingly.
And Nola will probably have to be babied the rest of his contract for the same reason.
This may also impact whether they try to sign him, b/c Painter and Sanchez are inning eaters.
Can they fix Luzardo and will they trust him enough to extend him?

[phillychuck]

There is no evidence Painter is an innings eater. Did you mean Wheeler?

[Austinfan]

Painter has the big arm/big body combination of an inning eater.
He's high velocity without high effort, similar to Wheeler.
The reason teams like these guys if they have good mechanics, they can use their legs and body, taking stress off their arms, and maintain velo through 100+ pitches.

Of course, Painter has to prove out, but he's still filling out that frame. Probably end up 6'7 230+ when he grows up.
It'll probably take a couple more years, but the reason he's a top prospect isn't just the stuff, but the potential to be a 32 start, 200+ IP guy season after season.
Which is what makes Wheeler special.

[andyb]

Nola is a proven innings eater. There are many types of these pitchers. Wheeler is probably NOT the classic example. Guys with his stuff tend to break and we don't know how Painter will turn out.

Nola has a free and easy motion. Maybe it will be harder for him and Suarez to be effective with less velocity, but there is really nothing to suggest he needs to be babied. His command and the way he mixes pitches and speed will be integral to his success.

Every pitcher is different. We actually know Nola can handle innings and workload and we really don't with Painter. We don't know the future with Nola of course, but that is probably more about his health and effectiveness than the incorrect notion that his style means he needs to be babied.