Phillies’ Brad Miller hits injured list one day after making game-saving throw

DETROIT -- One day after saving the Phillies' hide, utilityman Brad Miller was hidden away on the injured list for at least 10 days.

Miller was sidelined with what manager Gabe Kapler described as tightness in the right-hip flexor. The Phillies reinstated Sean Rodriguez from the injured list, and the veteran utilityman was available off the bench Wednesday.

"We do not have long-term concerns here," Kapler said of Miller.

The move came about 12 hours after Miller made a game-saving throw from left field in the 14th inning of the Phillies' 3-2, 15-inning victory over the Tigers.

With Nicholas Castellanos on second base as the game-winning run, the Tigers waved him home on a single to left field by pinch-hitter Brandon Dixon. Miller came up throwing and made an on-line peg to the plate, where catcher J.T. Realmuto applied the tag.

“Shoot, it was midnight or whatever. You’ve got to send him,” Miller said. “Luckily, it was hit directly at me, and, luckily, J.T. made a hell of a tag. That was really close. But yeah, that was fun.”

The Phillies acquired Miller for cash on June 13. He’s 9-for-41 (.220) with a .333 on-base percentage and three home runs in 27 games.

It remains to be seen whether the last 10 appearances are merely a flash of the start of something special. But left-hander Ranger Suarez has brought stability to the Phillies’ bullpen in a short time.

Suarez tossed 1 1/3 scoreless innings in Wednesday’s victory over the Tigers and has allowed one run in 13 1/3 innings since his most-recent call-up from triple-A Lehigh Valley on June 20.

"He's pretty fearless," catcher Andrew Knapp said. "He's been really big for us out of the bullpen, especially going multiple innings the way he has. He doesn't really care who's in the box. He's going to attack them. He throws a lot of strikes, which is helpful. You need a guy like that who can command the zone and make these guys try to put the ball in play."

The Phillies have been working with Vince Velasquez on elevating his four-seam fastball to generate more swings and misses. Against the Tigers, Velasquez got nine whiffs on 69 fastballs. “That’s a pitch that really plays,” Kapler said, “and it just becomes more and more clear every time he goes out there that it plays even better at the top of the zone.” ... The Phillies have won three games in a row for the first time since a four-game sweep of the New York Mets on June 24-27. ... Reliever Seranthony Dominguez played catch, the next step in his recovery from an elbow injury. The Phillies remain hopeful that he will return before the end of the season. ... Pitching matchups for the series against the Atlanta Braves: Jake Arrieta (8-7, 4.40 ERA) vs. Mike Soroka (10-2, 2.46) on Friday; Zach Eflin (7-10, 4.25) vs. Max Fried (10-4, 4.08) on Saturday; Kevin Gausman (3-5, 5.71) vs. Aaron Nola (8-2, 3.64) on Sunday.