September 21, 2025
Allan Henry/Imagn Images
Ranger Suárez and the Phillies had a rough Sunday to close out the Arizona series.
The Phillies dropped two of three in their weekend series to the Diamondbacks down in Arizona, which Sunday's finale made quickly apparent when they fell into a hole of a 9-2 final.
Arizona lefty Eduardo Rodriguez tossed six shutout innings on 93 pitches, while Ranger Suárez had a rough day on the mound because of a blow-up second inning that did him and the Phillies in fast. Suárez received the losing decision and dropped to 12-7 after getting tagged for six runs and lasting just four innings.
It's hard to get too up in arms about it, though.
The Phillies' postseason ticket is punched. They've already won the NL East, and if they can just stay the course at minimum for the last six games coming home, they should outlast even a crazy surge from the Dodgers for the No. 2 seed in the postseason bracket (which is boosted by having the tiebreaker over L.A., too).
They're October-bound, their roster for it looks mostly set, and they appear on track to getting healthier right before.
At 92-64, they're in good shape. It's just a matter of putting those finishing touches on to clinch that vital bye into the NLDS, and clear up those last couple of lingering questions.
The remaining six games against the Marlins and then the Twins coming home to Citizens Bank Park to close out should be more than enough runway for it.
Here are a few beats on how they're looking coming back to South Philly for the last handful of games in the regular season...
• Alec Bohm returned on Friday night, and in a big way. He went 2-for-5 with an RBI double in the second, then a two-run single in the ninth for the Phillies' 8-2 pile on in Game 1. He went 2-for-4 with a fourth-inning solo homer in Saturday night's Game 2 loss, and went 4-for-4 with a walk in Sunday's overall whimper of a finale.
It's been a rocky, somewhat injury-plagued season for Bohm, but the Phillies' best chance in October is with him at third. The same goes for Trea Turner at shortstop and at the top of the order, where he should be able to return from a Grade 1 hamstring strain before it's playoff time.
Having Edmundo Sosa as that ever-versatile and dependable bench bat is a boost, too, but his stint on the 10-day Injured List ahead of the postseason seemed more like a precautionary measure than anything. If anyone needed time to heal up, these last couple of weeks were when to do it.
Alec Bohm hasn't missed a beat since returning from the injured list.
— Todd Zolecki (@ToddZolecki) September 21, 2025
2 for 5 with a double and three RBIs last night.
2 for 2 with a homer so far tonight. pic.twitter.com/X49wjVsyel
• The Phillies are going to be lefty-heavy heading into the postseason with Cristopher Sánchez, Suárez, and Jesús Luzardo as the leading three in their rotation.
Suárez ran into trouble on Sunday, but has an overall body of work this season that points to the idea that he won't have any trouble bouncing back from it.
But as far as any right-handed depth goes, well, Aaron Nola's turn was up Saturday. He got through five innings to maintain a 3-2 lead, then the sixth struck, the signs showed, and Blaze Alexander and James McCann hit back-to-back doubles to tie the game before Nola was pulled. The winning run at second for Arizona was surrendered by Tanner Banks two at-bats later, but was still charged to Nola.
Was it the veteran right-hander's worst start? No, but it wasn't anything more encouraging either, because it was another scenario where fans watching were fearfully just waiting for the bottom to fall out.
Nola's 4-10 and his ERA is at 6.46 in what's just been a brutal year for a longtime face of the club. It's a tough argument to say he should be trusted with a start in the postseason.
The other righty option that might be under consideration, though, is interesting. Taijuan Walker started through four decent innings on Friday night, then essentially handed the ball over to Walker Buehler in a long reliever transition. They combined for 7.2 innings with five strikeouts, allowing seven hits, a walk, and two earned runs (both from Taijuan in the first).
Maybe that hybrid sort of bullpen game is a way to catch opponents off-guard when a series pushes later into a Game 4 or 5 or 6.
• Arizona taking the series does play into the Wild Card picture. As of Sunday night, the Diamondbacks' consecutive wins over the Phils are keeping them afloat and just a game out from the third and final spot behind the Reds and Mets.
Obviously, there are scars for fans from the 2023 NLCS with Arizona, but there are even fresher ones from last year's NLDS against New York, along with the longstanding and heated rivalry.
Even if the Phillies' work ahead of their postseason run is about 95 percent done, there's still some intrigue for fans, rivalry-wise, on that last push coming down the stretch.
The Mets, by the way, dropped two straight to the basement-dwelling Nationals and are 4-6 in their last 10.
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