Live update: Phillies still laughing at fan tackle. How Ranger Suarez is unbeatable in playoffs

If there's one thing we've seen from Phillies manager Rob Thomson during the postseason, it's that he will use his closer, and really his entire bullpen, at any point, especially when Ranger Suarez is pitching.

Well, Suarez is the starting pitcher Thursday as the Phillies face the Diamondbacks in Game 3 of the NLCS. So expect the unexpected.

We saw that in Game 1 of the NLDS against the Atlanta Braves when Suarez was pulled after 3 2/3 innings, and Thomson used late-inning relievers Jeff Hoffman, Seranthony Dominguez and Jose Alvarado to get through the fourth, fifth and sixth innings.

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Suarez was the starter again when the Phillies closed out the best-of-5 series in Game 4. Suarez went five innings. But Thomson took it a step further by bringing in his closer Craig Kimbrel in the seventh inning with two runners on base, after already using Dominguez and Alvarado.

Kimbrel got out of the jam and then got the first two outs of the eighth inning. The Phillies were left with Gregory Soto and Matt Strahm to close out the 3-1 win that enabled the Phillies to move on to the NLCS.

"I was always more on the traditional side where, OK, we have a seventh inning guy, an eighth inning guy, and you have a closer in the ninth," Thomson told reporters before Game 3. "I've sort of warmed up to this, and it worked out pretty well for us last year where we were mixing and matching."

It helps that in addition to Kimbrel, Dominguez, Soto and Alvarado have all served as closers, either with the Phillies or with their previous teams. Strahm, however, has not.

"You have a lot of guy that have felt that ninth inning heat, if you will," Thomson said. "I feel comfortable with almost anybody."

Craig Kimbrel is ready, not just in the 9th inning

Kimbrel, who saved Game 1 of the NLCS, said he's fine with that, too. The 35-year-old is second among active relievers with 417 saves. But Kimbrel has never closed a World Series clinching game. He was the Red Sox's closer in 2018 when they won the World Series in five games.

But starter Chris Sale pitched the ninth inning in the clincher.

"I mean, it would be awesome. It would be so cool," Kimbrel told reporters about getting that opportunity. "But at the same time, I have an understanding that my spot to be important and useful might come at a different point during the game.

"If it's not the last out and it's in a different point, I'll do my job and be just as happy."

Postseason Ranger is unbeatable

As for Suarez, he doesn't throw as hard as Zack Wheeler, and he's not as dependable health-wise as Aaron Nola.

But the Phillies are unbeatable when Suarez pitches in the postseason. In two seasons, the Phillies are 7-0 when he pitches, while Suarez has a 3-0 record. Suarez has a 1.16 ERA in the seven games (five of them starts).

This season, Suarez is 1-0 in 2 postseason starts. In 8 2/3 innings, he has given up 1 run on 4 hits and struck out 6 for an ERA of 1.04.

That doesn't align with Suarez's 2023 regular-season totals. He went 4-6 with a 4.18 ERA in 22 starts. Suarez had two stints on the injured list this season, returning from the second on Sept. 13.

"I didn't have a good start of the year," Suarez said. "I was injured. But I am the type of pitcher that the more I pitch, the better rhythm I get."

Phillies bullpen (still) can't get over fan tackle

Two days later and the Phillies bullpen members are still laughing about the fan who got leveled by a security guard while running in the outfield in the moments after Game 2 ended.

Reliever Gregory Soto was among a group of relievers as a fan ran toward them, arms raised to celebrate the 10-0 win. He was asked Thursday before the game if he was nervous seeing the fan running at them:

"Not nervous," Soto told reporters. "I just saw the guy running, and then I saw the other guy coming, like, hard. I say, 'What the (expletive)?' ... (The other relievers) are still laughing right now about that."

Phillies, Diamondbacks lineups for NLCS Game 3

The Phillies are sticking with the same lineup they've used in the first two games of this series as the Diamondbacks are starting righty Brandon Pfaadt, who was 3-9 with a 5.72 ERA during the regular season.

Pfaadt has been better in the postseason. He has a 3.86 ERA in two starts, spanning a total of seven innings. But the Diamondbacks are seemingly going with a bullpen game in Game 4 on Friday. So the Phillies certainly would like to get Pfaadt out of the game as early as possible.

Here is the Phillies' lineup:

1.Kyle Schwarber DH

2. Trea Turner SS

3. Bryce Harper 1B

4. Alec Bohm 3B

5. Bryson Stott 2B

6. J.T. Realmuto C

7. Nick Castellanos RF

8. Brandon Marsh LF

9. Johan Rojas CF

Contact Martin Frank at mfrank@delawareonline.com. Follow on X @Mfranknfl.

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This article originally appeared on Delaware News Journal: Phillies vs. Diamondbacks: Live analysis, updates, lineups NLCS Game 3