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Justin Verlander turns in dominant outing as Astros trounce Phillies

Final: Astros 10, Phillies 0

HOUSTON — If there is a Game 3 in the National League Wild Card Series, Ranger Suárez will get the ball for the Philadelphia Phillies. If the Phillies win the NLWCS in two games, Suárez is a good bet to pitch Game 1 of the NLDS.

Should either scenario present itself, the Phillies will have to hope that Suárez performs better than he did in the second-to-last game of the regular season.

Before you could blink in the bottom of the first inning, the Houston Astros had jumped out to a 2-0 lead on a 424-foot home run by Jeremy Peña:

Three batters later, Kyle Tucker extended Houston’s lead by hitting a three-run shot:

— Phillies Nation (@PhilliesNation) October 5, 2022

For good measure, Astros’ catcher Martín Maldonado — who isn’t exactly Mike Piazza at the plate — led off the top of the second inning with a solo home run:

With the Phillies having clinched a postseason berth Monday, the plan for Suárez was for him to go four innings and/or 65 pitches Tuesday night.