Less than 24 hours after his injury, Suarez doing ‘a lot better’ per Thomson

Not even 24 hours after Ranger Suarez took a 106.1 mile per hour shot to his throwing hand, all signs are pointing in the direction that the lefty won’t miss much, if any, time.

Phillies manager Rob Thomson felt good about the situation immediately following Saturday night’s game against the Cardinals. X-rays came back negative, medical staff didn’t anticipate anything serious and even Suarez knew from the moment he was hit with the ball, that he was going to be just fine.

Ahead of Sunday’s series finale, Thomson’s positivity remained clear as day.

“A lot better, swelling is down,” he said. “We still don’t know about his next start, he won’t pick up a ball until maybe [Monday], probably the next day, but really, really encouraging.”

Suarez has been one of the best starters in baseball through the first two months of the season. He entered last night’s game 9-1, tied for the most wins in MLB. After retiring the six batters he faced before exiting the game, he dropped his ERA down to 1.70, which also marks the best in the league.

The Phillies have an unusual three days off through the course of the next week due to MLB’s London Series, where the club will travel abroad to face the Mets in a two-game series.

Suarez’s next start is slated for Saturday, the first of those two games. If for some reason he’s unable to go, or the Phillies decide to rest him once through the rotation out of an abundance of caution, there’s no need to worry.

After Suarez’s two innings, and after Jose Ruiz came out for the third, Mr. Reliable, Spencer Turnbull, threw three scoreless innings with six strikeouts.

The Phillies are taking it day-by-day, but Turnbull now perfectly aligns with the rotation, if in fact he has to hop in and make the start.

Turnbull started six consecutive times through the rotation before moving to the pen once Taijuan Walker returned. During that span, he was 2-0 with a 1.67 ERA and 36 strikeouts.

“Turnbull kinda lines right up,” Thomson said on the current dynamic. “If we know that Ranger can go that Saturday, then we may have Turnbull available Wednesday.”

Wednesday marks the series finale against the Milwaukee Brewers and the final game stateside before the Phillies make the trip across the pond.

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