Click to watch Ranger Suarez’ four strikeouts in 2 1/3 innings.
By Jenny Masters and the Associated Press
The Phillies ended their first half of the 2021 season with a gutty win that pulled them up to 44-44 and only 3 1/2 games behind the Mets in NL East.
Ronald Torreyes hit a three-run homer, and the Phils used six pitchers after losing scheduled starter Aaron Nola to COVID-19 in beating the Boston Red Sox 5-4.
Torreyes had three of the Phils’ six hits and J.T. Realmuto had an RBI single in the third.
They had to scratch starter Nola and place the right-hander and three teammates on COVID-19-related injured reserve. Brandon Kintzler started the group effort with one-plus inning, Cristopher Sánchez (1-0) got the win after taking over in the second, and Ranger Suárez finished it, striking out two in the ninth to earn his second save.
The Phils scored five runs, four earned, off Nick Pivetta (7-4), who worked four innings against the team that traded him to Boston last summer.
Rhys Hoskins had a two-out double in the fourth and Brad Miller walked to set up Torreyes, who belted Pivetta’s 3-2 fastball into the top row of seats above the Green Monster.
Torreyes also singled in the third and scored on Realmuto’s two-out single, which led to another run on a throwing error by right fielder Hunter Renfroe.
Pivetta pitched four innings, allowing five runs — four earned — on four hits. He walked two and struck out four.
The Red Sox scored twice in the sixth on Bobby Dalbec’s RBI single and Christian Arroyo’s run-scoring double, but were blanked after that.
