BOSTON -- Kyle Schwarber was happy to see old friend Ranger Suarez again on Thursday night -- but he was probably happier to see him go.
Facing his former team for the first time, Suarez got the better of Schwarber in each of their three meetings (including a pair of strikeouts). That left Schwarber 0-for-8 with four K's in his career against Suarez.
So when Schwarber stepped to the plate in the eighth inning of a scoreless tie at Fenway Park, he had to be thrilled to see Red Sox reliever Tyler Samaniego staring back at him.
Sure, Samaniego was another tough left-hander who had yet to allow a run in his brief big league career -- but he wasn't Suarez.
“He's a unique guy,” Schwarber said of his former teammate. “He's got so many different weapons in the arsenal, and he has a really good idea of what he wants to do to you.”
With Suarez out of the game, Schwarber blasted a go-ahead two-run homer over the Phillies' bullpen beyond the right-field seats. It was Schwarber's seventh homer in seven games and MLB-leading 18th of the season.
It was also the decisive swing in the Phillies’ 3-1 victory in a game that many had speculated wasn't going to happen.
Despite days of talk about the dreadful forecast, Mother Nature was ultimately no match for the baseball gods, who cleared the rain just in time for the Phillies' reunion with Suarez to go on as planned.
Once the tarp came off, it was mostly business as usual.
There were a few nods and a couple friendly exchanges as Phillies hitters strolled to the plate, but otherwise it was the cool, calm and collected Suarez that Philadelphia fans know all too well.
“To be honest with you, it was like a regular game,” Suarez said. “Obviously, I know they were my old teammates, but I wanted just to get it deep into the game.”
Suarez retired the first 11 batters he faced before Bryce Harper finally drew a walk to give the Phillies their first baserunner with two outs in the fourth. The southpaw didn't give up a hit until Alec Bohm's leadoff single in the fifth.
The Phillies did not plate a run off Suarez, whose night came to an end after 5 1/3 scoreless innings. (He had not pitched since 11 days ago, an outing he exited early with a right hamstring issue.)
But Jesús Luzardo was up for the challenge. Luzardo outlasted his former rotationmate, tossing six scoreless frames of his own.
“He’s like a brother to me,” Luzardo said. “So he was having a good time and made it tough for us, but it was fun going against him.”
It was a big bounceback for Luzardo, who had allowed six runs (five earned) over just three-plus innings his last time out.
That was the fourth time in eight starts that Luzardo had allowed at least five runs this season. He had allowed no more than two runs in the other half, though -- and that was the version who showed up in Boston.
It was perhaps fitting that it was Luzardo on the mound opposite Suarez.
After all, it was Luzardo who signed a five-year, $135 million extension this spring less than two months after the Phils let Suarez walk. His contract with the Red Sox? Five years, $130 million.
Did Suarez take that as extra motivation?
“Not really,” Suarez said. “I think I went out there just like another game. They had their plans, and now, I'm here in Boston and I'm happy here.”
Of course, it was never as simple as choosing Luzardo or Suarez.
The latter was already a free agent, while Luzardo had one more year on his previous deal. The Phillies didn't really have room for both in their rotation -- not if they wanted a spot for Andrew Painter to break into the big leagues.
The extension, though, had nothing to do with Suarez leaving. That was because the Phillies saw immense potential in Luzardo coming off a year in which he had a 3.03 ERA in 30 outings outside of his now infamous two-start stretch in which he was tipping pitches.
There was some question whether he was again doing that against Boston. Though the Red Sox didn't have a lot of traffic against Luzardo -- he allowed just four hits and one walk -- their runners who did reach second base appeared to be signaling to their hitters as Luzardo began his motion.
“Some of that's real, some of it’s just to make you think they know something,” interim manager Don Mattingly said. “And we saw a lot of the same motions on different pitches, so it tells you it didn't really feel like they had anything.”
The results don’t suggest they did either. The Red Sox went 0-for-2 against Luzardo with a runner on second base.
“Just trying to catch my attention,” Luzardo said. “I don't think there was much to it.”
Did it work?
“No,” Luzardo said.