The Philadelphia Phillies were blown out, 10-4, in their series opener against the San Francisco Giants on Monday night. That is now four losses in five games for Rob Thomson’s group. Few teams stack up better on paper, but the same issues that doomed Philly to a premature postseason exit in 2024 persist.
Among them is the neverending conundrum of Taijuan Walker. After two scoreless starts to open the campaign, Walker crashed back to earth in dire fashion against the Giants. He allowed six hits, a walk, and four earned runs in 5.0 innings on Monday, including this ugly meatball in the second frame.
Welp. That escalated quickly. Taijuan Walker threw away the inning when he threw the ball into centerfield. He would’ve been out of the inning. Giants with 6 runs
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Aside from a catastrophic second inning, Walker was mostly fine. He has, by and large, been quite impressive this season. The version of Walker that finished the 2024 campaign with a 7.10 ERA is not the version currently taking the mound every fifth or sixth game for Philadelphia. Still, it’s impossible to trust this guy. Walker is too volatile; if feels like he walks a tightrope every inning.
The mirage of those first two starts has been annihilated. Taijuan Walker anxiety is back in fashion, and man, it’s almost comfortable. This is where Phillies fans belong. As Walker’s reputation slips once again, a single question has taken hold in the Delaware Valley: when will Ranger Suárez retake the mound?
Phillies fans are desperate for Ranger Suárez after Taijuan Walker’s latest meltdown
Walker has a 2.30 ERA through three starts, which fans will take any day of the week. This relative success feels fragile, however, and Philadelphia would surely prefer to move forward with a healthy rotation. That means getting Ranger Suárez back into the fold, ideally sooner than later.
Suárez began the 2025 campaign on the 15-day IL due to back stiffness, but he’s making progress toward a return. The 29-year-old made his first rehab start for low-A Clearwater last week and he’s scheduled to pitch again on Wednesday.
Ranger Suarez gets his rehab outing in Clearwater started with a swing and miss strikeout pic.twitter.com/ANng0NSSoU
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There was some, uh, silly talk of moving Suárez to the bullpen amid Walker’s hot start, but that is out the window. It’s clear, now more than ever, that Philadelphia needs to get Suárez up to speed quickly. Every Walker start is an unnecessary risk. Every starter loses games.
Walker only has one bad inning in 15.2 innings of work this season, so we needn’t overreact to what happened on Monday. That said, we know where this path leads. Philadelphia traded for Jesús Luzardo with visions of lining up five All-Star caliber pitchers in the rotation, with Andrew Painter coming down the pipeline. Walker has never been part of that vision.
Suárez is expected back in the Phillies rotation sometime in late April, so fans need only endure one or two more starts from Walker, ideally. Until then… godspeed.
