Ranger Suarez could return against Phillies as Red Sox lefty nears comeback
Suarez has been out the last week dealing with right hamstring tightness.
Ranger Suárez could return to the mound as early as next week.
The left-hander, who has been sidelined with right hamstring tightness, appears to be lined up to start against his former club, the Phillies.
Suárez last pitched for the Red Sox on May 3 in Boston’s 3-1 loss to Houston at Fenway Park. The 30-year-old threw 70 pitches, 46 for strikes, allowing three hits and one walk while striking out three over four scoreless innings.
“Not an IL but the whole thing about this was like, ‘Let’s put him in the best possible spot,’” Chad Tracy said before Friday’s win over the Rays. “So we knew with the way things lined up we could always push it. So the plan right now is for him to start sometime in the Philly series. We don’t know the order of that yet. That’s where we’re at with him.”
Once the Red Sox wrap up their four-game series with the Rays this weekend, they’ll have Monday off before opening a series against the Phillies on Tuesday night at Fenway Park.
That could set the stage for Suárez to face his former club in his return from right hamstring tightness.
After a pair of rocky starts to begin his Red Sox tenure, Suárez has settled in and emerged as one of Boston’s most reliable arms. The 30-year-old owns a 2.77 ERA across seven starts and has not allowed a run in four of his last five outings while holding opponents to a .197 batting average this season.
Hamstring issues are not entirely new for Suárez. He landed on the 15-day injured list with a right hamstring strain while with the Phillies in August 2023 and also missed time in the minors in 2018 with a similar injury. Both absences were brief.
Suárez, however, said this latest issue feels “way different” than the hamstring strain that sidelined him in 2023.
“Last year, I suffered something similar. I didn’t miss any time,” Suárez said through translator Carlos Villoria Benítez back on May 3. “So hopefully I won’t miss any time.”