Phillies Injury News: Ranger Suarez Scratched from Start in the 2023 Little League Classic

The Philadelphia Phillies will be making a tweak to their starting rotation for this weekend’s series finale against the Washington Nationals in the 2023 Little League Classic.  Starting pitcher Ranger Suarez has been scratched from his start due to right hamstring soreness, the team announced on Friday night. Zack Wheeler will start instead; he will be on regular rest.

According to Phillies’ manager Rob Thomson, Suarez’s hamstring soreness began during the Phillies series against the Toronto Blue Jays earlier this week in Toronto.  There is hope that issue isn’t anything long-term and was likely tied to the turf at Rogers Centre.

“We don’t know how long it’s going to be, but we’ll re-evaluate tomorrow. It happened in Toronto. The day he got sore, he was shagging and looked normal, and [he] said he went in the shower and it started stiffening up. … A lot of times your legs get aggravated on that turf, so I’m hoping that’s all it was.” 

• Phillies manager Rob Thomson via MLB.com’s Todd Zolecki

Suarez missed the first six-weeks of the 2023 regular season due to a series of left forearm/elbow issues he suffered during the 2023 World Baseball Classic.  The 27-year-old has had an up-and-down 2023 season, Suarez has a 2-6 record with a 3.88 ERA, 89 Ks, and a 1.428 WHIP in 97.1 innings pitched.  It looked as though Suarez was returning to form in June when he went 2-0 with a 1.08 ERA in five starts, however his July was a complete disaster.  Suarez went 0-3 with a 6.11 ERA in five starts in the month of July never clearing the six innings pitched hurdle.  In fact, Suarez has only registered three-starts of seven innings pitched or more in 2023.

This is a developing story…