Ranger Suarez Injury: Excels in first rehab start

Suarez (back) struck out four while giving up one hit and no walks over three innings in his first rehab start Thursday with Single-A Clearwater.

Suarez's first competitive appearance since his March 9 Grapefruit League start against the Orioles went about as well as the Phillies could have hoped; he fired 24 of his 33 pitches for strikes and faced the minimum over three innings while not allowing a ball to leave the infield. He's expected to stick around with Clearwater for his next rehab start Tuesday and will be targeting around four innings and 55 pitches, per Scott Lauber of The Philadelphia Inquirer. Suarez will most likely need at least one more rehab appearance after Tuesday before being deemed ready to return from the 15-day injured list.