Ranger Suárez and Aaron Nola step up in different ways as Phillies win series over Nationals

To begin a stretch of 11 straight days with a game, the Phillies played host to the Washington Nationals for three games this weekend, looking to make up for a lackluster four-game set in Washington, D.C. last weekend in which the Phillies split with the last-place Nationals.

Friday’s game looked like it would be the ideal opener to a series. Taijuan Walker allowed a three-run home run and threw 38 pitches in the first inning, then buckled down and tossed four scoreless frames to keep his bullpen fresh and his offense in the game. Bryson Stott tied the game with a two-run shot in the sixth inning and J.T. Realmuto hit one out in the following frame to put the Phillies ahead. But for the first time, Phillies manager Rob Thomson handed the ball to Jhoan Duran in a save situation and got burned. Duran allowed a double and a single to blow a 4-3 lead, then Realmuto made an error trying to cut down a base-stealer that enabled Washington to take the lead and ultimately escape with a 5-4 victory.

The following evening, Aaron Nola took the mound against the same Nationals lineup that he failed to get outs against in his return from the injured list last weekend. The process and the results looked a whole lot different this time, as Nola’s velocity went up, his pitch mix changed and he only surrendered two earned runs in six strong innings. A five-run fourth inning – headlined by a three-run blast from Edmundo Sosa – was the difference in a 6-4 win. That time, Duran came in and shut the door.

Looking to nab another series victory Sunday afternoon, the Phillies sent Ranger Suárez to the mound hoping he could build on a strong outing against the Seattle Mariners on Monday. Suárez could not muster the uptick in velocity that Nola had, but was still on his game. Suárez dazzled to the tune of seven scoreless innings, backup catcher Rafael Marchán drove in three runs in the first three innings and the Phillies never looked back en route to a 3-2 win and series victory. 

From Suárez and Nola to Duran to a surging offense, everything to know about the Phillies’ weekend series against the Nationals:

Will Ranger Suárez’s velocity ever come back? How much does it matter?

Suárez once again did not have much velocity to work with Sunday, and even when the results have been good it has become a troubling trend. Suárez is 29 years old without an enormous amount of mileage; there is no obvious reason why his velocity should regularly be down three ticks from where he was in 2023.

While Suárez has never relied on overpowering stuff to get outs, his margin for error will continue to be slim if he is sitting around 90.0 miles per hour. Once again, that is right about where he was on Sunday:

The confounding part about Suárez is that, still, it is often difficult to argue with his results. And on Sunday, they were there. Suárez consistently got ahead of hitters and was notching quick outs. Diminished velocity forces him to have pristine command, and on Sunday he did.

Even without much velocity, Suárez was able to generate some whiffs and keep Nationals hitters off-balance. After a rough stretch following the All-Star break, he has now posted back-to-back impressive outings. Monday marked the first time all year Suárez notched 10 strikeouts in a start, and he topped it on Sunday with a career-high 11 punchouts. For the second start in a row, Suárez did not issue any free passes.

After his terrific start on Sunday – 7.0 scoreless innings pitched, scattering only three hits on 90 pitches (63 strikes) – Suárez is down to a 3.07 ERA in 20 starts (126.0 innings) in 2025.

Suárez’s success almost never feels inherently convincing or repeatable in the moment. But at some point his track record gets to the talking. 

Aaron Nola makes significant progress 

Thomson expressed significant confidence on Saturday afternoon that, despite his massive struggles through 10 starts in 2025, Nola would step up. With Zack Wheeler officially done for the season, another member of this starting rotation becoming a reliable presence would do wonders. Nola has epitomized reliable for much of his career, but this year he just has not had good enough stuff to get by.

But in Saturday’s 6-4 win, Nola showed signs of his former self.

Nola’s velocity on Saturday was not just noticeably better than his first start after being reinstated from the injured list, a start in which the same Nationals hitters chased him out of the game in the third inning. Nola was throwing harder than he has all year. His four-seam fastball, which has often sat around 91 miles per hour this year, topped out at 94.1 miles per hour and sat in between 92 and 93.

That might not sound like a lot, but when you have subpar velocity to begin with, going up even two ticks can make a massive difference.

“The other stuff plays up,” Thomson said after the game of Nola’s velocity uptick. “It’s just like Taijuan: when he’s got his good fastball going, a tick or two above what he was last year, it makes everything else a little bit better.”

For Nola specifically, it looked like the improved fastball allowed his signature curveball to be more effective. After the game, Nola had the same takeaway.

“The fastball felt really good,” Nola said. “I feel like it set up some other stuff, especially my curveball.”

Nola generated 16 whiffs across six solid innings of work, and his fastball-curveball combination was a major reason why. A particular reliance on that breaking ball could be part of a strategic adjustment on Nola’s part:

Nola’s final line on Saturday – 6.0 innings pitched, five hits, three runs (two earned), one walk and six strikeouts on 97 pitches (64 strikes) – was not mind-blowing. He allowed a pair of solo shots in the sixth inning, likely a sign he was running into a wall as he has been known to do later in starts. But Nola looked significantly better than he has in a very long time, and if it is a sign of things to come, the Phillies will have an easier time managing the loss of Wheeler.

“It’s tough to lose him,” Nola said. “…It’s tough for the team, the city and the organization. But we’re going to do our best to pick him up and go win as many more baseball games as possible and try to win the division.”

Odds and ends

Some additional notes:

• Duran blowing a save and Realmuto compounding it with an error to give the Nationals the lead – and, eventually, the win – was a disappointment on Friday night. But there was no consternation about Duran giving up runs for the first time in his Phillies career from the superstar closer or his manager. Talking about Duran’s blown save, Thomson invoked the name of a closer he spent plenty of time with.

“Mariano had 80 of them,” Thomson said. “So it’s going to happen every once in a while.”

Duran will blow another save at some point, but that point was not Saturday. He confidently stated after Friday’s loss that he did not need time to flush the loss and would be ready the next day. Despite allowing a pair of hits in the ninth inning on Saturday, he put up a zero to shut the door.

• With Nationals lefty Mitchell Parker on the mound on Saturday, Thomson opted to stack his right-handed hitters, starting Harrison Bader, Edmundo Sosa and Weston Wilson with Max Kepler, Brandon Marsh and Bryson Stott all sitting. Usually Wilson plays left field, but on Saturday he started at first base with Kyle Schwarber in left field and Bryce Harper serving as the designated hitter. Nothing was up with Harper physically, Thomson clarified before the game. The Phillies just wanted to give him a day off his feet. Washington’s first run ended up scoring after a play in which Wilson bobbled a ground ball and then a rushed throw to second base ended up sailing into the outfield.

• As Thomson continues to juggle four outfielders vying for more at-bats, it was a surprise to see Kepler sit against right-handed starters on back-to-back days. But Bader went 3-for-4 on Saturday with two singles and a double, all carrying exit velocities of over 100 miles per hour (two of them neared 110). Those impressive swings, plus Bader’s previous success against Sunday starter Jake Irvin, landed him the start over Kepler for the second day in a row.

Bader laced a single off Irvin in his first at-bat, later scoring on a two-out, two-run double from Marchán that got the scoring started. Bader walked on four pitches in his next plate appearance, and suddenly Irvin’s day was over after only getting seven outs.

• Trea Turner reached on a throwing error by Nationals shortstop CJ Abrams in the first inning on Sunday, and in his second at-bat Turner hit an infield single in the hole when the play was too tough for Abrams to make. It was Turner’s 28th infield hit of the season, head and shoulders above the rest of the pack in the majors:

• When Suárez’s day was done, Thomson summoned José Alvarado for the eighth inning, and for the first time since his suspension came to an end, Alvarado struggled. The strike zone was small, but he put the entirety of Washington’s 7-8-9 pocket on base without recording an out.

Luckily for the Phillies, Tanner Banks continued to be dominant against left-handed hitters. With the bases loaded and no outs, Banks came into the game with a 3-0 lead, faced the two best hitters on the Nationals and got three outs. Banks quickly spun a double play ball off the bat of James Wood, then induced an Abrams flyout. The damage was limited to one run charged to Alvarado.

Left-handed hitters were slashing .167/.205/.250 against Banks entering Sunday’s game, and he continued to show just how valuable he can be in October, when every matchup is scrutinized by a manager. Outside of Duran, Banks might be the Phillies’ best bet against lefties right now.

Up next: The Phillies have Cristopher Sánchez, Jesús Luzardo and Walker lined up to start the next three days, and that is good news. They will be at Citi Field on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday to face the New York Mets with a chance to take a commanding lead in the National League East.