Philadelphia Phillies Star Reveals What Was Said Before His Complete Game Shutout

The Philadelphia Phillies were treated to a pitching gem by one of their rising stars on Tuesday as they were able to get another win.

Apr 16, 2024; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Philadelphia Phillies starting pitcher Ranger Suarez / Kyle Ross-USA TODAY Sports

During the early portion of the season for the Philadelphia Phillies, things have been anything but smooth.

Their offense is completely out of sorts, yet they still were able to accomplish something that hadn't been done in five years.

This is a positive spin on things for sure since everyone would feel a whole lot better if the Phillies started looking like the team who has made deep playoff runs each of the past two years.

What has been excellent, though, is their starting pitching.

Entering Wednesday's finale against the Colorado Rockies, their rotation ranks third in the MLB with an ERA of 2.69.

Ranger Suarez has been a huge part of that, and this was on full display Tuesday night.

The left-hander has made a name for himself in Philadelphia with his postseason performances, but in his fourth start of the year, his brilliance shined again.

Suarez threw a complete game shutout, allowing only seven hits while striking out eight batters and giving up just one walk. It was the second time the 28-year-old has thrown a complete game shutout in his career.

Those are becoming all too rare in today's game, and when his pitch count started to rise and hit 89 pitches, there was some thought that manager Rob Thomson might not allow the rising star to finish what he began.

Instead, the skipper let him go out there shut down the game.

According to Alex Coffey of The Philadelphia Inquirer, the two had the following exchange before he headed out for the ninth inning.

"Are you feeling OK?" [Thomson] asked.

"Yes," Suarez said.

"Go out there and finish the game," Thomson said.

"All right," Suarez said, "that’s what I'm going to do."

The lefty now sits with a 3-0 record and 1.73 ERA through four starts. He's pitched 26 innings and has struckout 27.

Bryce Harper has affectionately said that Suarez "has no heartbeat" in reference to his calm demeanor out on the field.

That wasn't the case when he came out for the ninth inning and "Mr. Rager" by Kid Cudi was blasting throughout Citizens Bank Park, causing his body to shake.

"I hadn't felt that way in a while. I think it helped me finish the ninth inning," he said.

With Suarez performing the way he has so far, the Phillies certainly have one of the best starting rotations in the league.