Philadelphia Phillies pitching coach believes Ace's injury could be a “blessing”

The Philadelphia Phillies lost another frustrating game on Tuesday.

They are competing in a three-game series against their decimated arch-rivals, the Atlanta Braves. A clear win could make the gap in the division table almost insurmountable, but it could also be uncomfortably close if the Phillies are as weak as they have been since the All-Star break.

The first game of this encounter featured the latter of these scenarios.

Despite a very solid performance by their ace Zack Wheeler, who allowed two runs on six hits and eight strikeouts in six innings pitched, the Phillies lost the game 3-1 after their bats were completely incapacitated.

That's what happens over the course of a long season in Major League Baseball, but considering how Philadelphia played in the second half of the year, this is another example of how this team could be eliminated early in the playoffs.

As they try to find a way to be more consistent, the Phillies expect one of their star pitchers to return from the injured list this weekend.

Ranger Suarez has been on the 15-day IL since July 27 because he has been dealing with back soreness since July 24. He was a serious contender for the National League Cy Young Award earlier this year when he held a 2.27 ERA throughout June.

But before he was placed on the injured list, his ERA was 6.61 after his three starts in July, which yielded an 0-3 record and saw his opponents post a .279 batting average against him, as he allowed 19 hits in 16.1 innings pitched.

There was some underlying concern that Suarez might be overworked as he was on pace to set career highs in innings, starts and pitches thrown.

For this reason, Philadelphia pitching coach Caleb Cotham believes the left-hander's time on the injured list may have even had a positive effect.

“The time off is probably a blessing. He's looked incredible… A little bit of rest to reset is probably a good thing when we get back on the gas. We've got to go. And he's a big part of why we're here and whether we do what we want to do,” he told Matt Gelb of The athlete.

Suarez was incredible for the Phillies in the playoffs.

He has posted a career ERA of 1.62 in his seven starts and nine appearances, holding opponents to a batting average of .180 with 32 strikeouts in 33.1 innings pitched.

For Philadelphia to win a World Series title, the rising star will have to be at his best when the playoffs begin.

Hopefully Cotham is right and Suarez was able to recover from this break and find his old form.

If that's the case, the Phillies will enter the postseason with the three-headed monster they've had in their last two long playoff runs.