The Phillies welcomed the Arizona Diamondbacks to town for a three-game set this weekend, with multiple familiar faces rejoining the roster. Starter Ranger Suárez and outfielder Brandon Marsh were both activated from the injured list prior to Saturday's game, with Marsh returning to the lineup on Saturday and Suárez taking the mound on Sunday.
After notching a 3-2 win on Friday, which was powered by a pair of crucial home runs, the Phillies put together back-to-back three-run innings early on Saturday to take command of what became a 7-2 victory behind six scoreless innings from Aaron Nola.
With the Phillies going for a sweep in Suárez's return, the left-hander struggled mightily. Suárez allowed seven runs and only lasted 3.1 innings, putting the Phillies in an early 7-1 hole. A spirited comeback on the part of the Phillies' offense appeared to be on the verge of falling short, as they trailed 8-6 with two outs in the ninth inning. Then Kyle Schwarber launched a home run and Nick Castellanos, J.T. Realmuto and Alec Bohm hit three straight singles, with Bohm's base hit tying the game.
HELLO THERE pic.twitter.com/YwIgWqQ2mx
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) May 4, 2025
With an already suspect Phillies bullpen undermanned, however, the Diamondbacks pushed three runs across in the top of the 10th inning to pull back ahead and eventually escape with an 11-9 victory.
Here's what stood out from this weekend's series between the Phillies and Diamondbacks:
Suárez gets back on the bump
For the first time since the Phillies' final game of 2024 — Game 4 of the NLDS at Citi Field — manager Rob Thomson wrote in Suárez as his starting pitcher in Sunday's series finale. The left-hander was activated from the injured list after missing the first month and change of the season due to lower back stiffness, rejoining a rotation that has been very good despite his absence.
Before Sunday's game, Thomson raved about Suárez's impact in the clubhouse since he rejoined the team.
"There's a different energy level when he's around," Thomson said. "There is. Because he's always having fun. He's very serious when he pitches, but he's always having fun and joking around with the guys, and he's a great guy to have around."
Suárez, who was predictably not going to be pushed too hard in his first start of the season, was expected to throw in the ballpark of 85-to-90 pitches. But as the 29-year-old imploded amid a two-out rally from Arizona in the top of the fourth, Thomson pulled the plug at 82 pitches.
Yes way, José 🥳 pic.twitter.com/vE22gponCL
— Arizona Diamondbacks (@Dbacks) May 4, 2025
While Suárez was impacted by some poor defense — and an interesting scoring decision which added two questionable earned runs to his name — it was a disappointing season debut for a veteran with a lot to gain if he can put together a strong season in a contract year.
"It looked like he lost his command getting out of the stretch, leaving his breaking ball up a little bit, changeup up," Thomson said. "I thought the stuff was good, and the command was really good in the first two innings with his fastball."
Marsh returns to the lineup
A hamstring issue sidelined Marsh for the last two weeks of April and another two more days, a frustrating conclusion to what was the 27-year-old's worst month of baseball since arriving in Philadelphia in 2022. Marsh went hitless in 36 plate appearances prior to being placed on the injured list, unable to find any sort of life at the plate. He carried an 0-for-31 rut into his return to the lineup on Saturday night, but did find a bit of a groove in a six-game rehab stint with the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. Marsh slashed .300/.400/.450 in 25 Triple-A plate appearances, including a home run.
"Really just getting healthy," Marsh said hours before Saturday's game when asked the value of his rehab assignment. "It was a good week."
Marsh, who called his time off a "good mental reset," praised the improving Johan Rojas, whose performances in center field were impressive as he played every day. Marsh raved about Rojas' stellar catch to help secure a victory in the prior night's series opener.
Johan Rojas makes a jaw-dropping full speed grab 👀 pic.twitter.com/jBExGdygMg
— MLB (@MLB) May 3, 2025
"Rojas is incredible," Marsh said of the outfielder whose locker is immediately to the left of his own. "And I'm not just saying this because he's sitting next to me."
Marsh drove in a run with a double in his first plate appearance on Saturday, the last of five Phillies batters to record consecutive hits against right-hander Brandon Pfaadt to begin the second inning.
Here'sssss Marshy! pic.twitter.com/pekaZR1baM
— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) May 3, 2025
Marsh went 2-for-4 in his return, and Rojas manned center field against lefty Eduardo Rodríguez on Sunday afternoon with Marsh out of the lineup.
"I think the double down the line let [Marsh] breathe a little bit," Thomson said, "then he had really good at-bats. He hit the ball hard all night long."
Rojas drove in the team's second run on Sunday with a two-out single to center field, continuing his stellar production with runners on base.
How the Phillies divvy up starts in center field long-term remains to be seen, but a standard platoon figures to make the most sense if Marsh can stay out of the kind of rut he was in before getting injured. If Marsh fails to consistently produce, though, Rojas' offensive leap could enable him to nab some starts against right-handed pitching.
Shortly after Marsh's activation, Thomson was asked if he was in line for the bulk of the work in center field against right-handed pitching.
"Not necessarily," Thomson said. "Rojas is just playing so well. We'll just pick and choose, see where we're at on a day-to-day basis."
Odds and ends
• The difference in the Phillies' 3-2 victory over Arizona in Friday night's series opener was a pair of solo home runs from Schwarber and Max Kepler against left-hander José Castillo in the seventh inning. Schwarber has obliterated left-handed pitching dating back to last season — he referred to it on Friday night as taking the "stigma" of left-on-left matchups" out of play." But Kepler's go-ahead homer moments later was more surprising:
Max, Max, Max, super Max, Max
Super, super Max, Max, Max, super Max, Max
Super, super Max, Max, Max, super Max, Max
Super, super Max, Max, Max, super Max, Max pic.twitter.com/MffVkEvDOr— Philadelphia Phillies (@Phillies) May 3, 2025
The Phillies signed Kepler, 32, to play left field in hopes he could prove capable of starting every day. His production against left-handers has not been there so far, even though he has emerged with a terrific last few weeks. Kepler seems to at least be a high-quality, strong-side platoon bat. If he did end up producing against left-handers, though, the Phillies would suddenly have two spots in their outfield locked down.
Without doing any sort of complaining, Kepler said after Friday's game that he finds it much tougher to square up a ball coming from a lefty when he is not seeing those looks often. Was that home run the start of something?
"I hope I get some more shots here in the near future against lefties," Kepler said.
- MORE SPORTS
- Can you name every player to appear in a game for the 2024-25 Sixers?
- A look at the Eagles' rookie salary cap numbers, and the money needed to sign them
- NHL Draft lottery primer: The Flyers' No. 1 pick odds and who they might take
• In order to create roster space for Suárez's activation, the Phillies placed right-handed reliever José Ruiz on the 15-day injured list on Saturday due to a neck spasm (retroactive to May 1). After a difficult beginning to his first full year with the Phillies, Ruiz had recently rebounded with 3.1 shutout innings across a pair of appearances. His absence could mean the team gives more opportunities to right-hander Carlos Hernández, who seemed likely to be designated for assignment if the corresponding move for Suárez's activation was not another injury-related transaction.
Suárez was activated a day early because Nola's neck tightened up about 30 minutes before he was set to throw Saturday's first pitch. But Suárez did not end up being needed in an emergency capacity, as Nola worked his way through 109 pitches.
• With a walk in his first plate appearance on Sunday afternoon, Schwarber extended his career-high on-base streak to 40 games — a run which dates back to Sept. 23 of last season.
Up next: The Phillies will play their next six games on the road, starting with a three-game set against the Tampa Bay Rays beginning on Tuesday.
Follow Adam on Twitter: @SixersAdam
Follow PhillyVoice on Twitter: @thephillyvoice