The Cincinnati Reds-New York Mets series opener will go down as “the Eugenio Suárez game.” Or, it will at least be known one of the prominent Suárez games of the season, but it’s hard to imagine much better than this one.
The full promise of Suárez, the offseason addition via free-agency known for homering in bunches, popped two home runs June 15 against the Mets. It was his first multi-homer game of his second stint with Cincinnati, and his six RBI’s helped power Cincinnati to a 12-0 win at Great American Ball Park.
Suárez, who entered play with five home runs, hit his first homer of the contest in the first inning. Already up 1-0, Suárez made it 3-0 when his soaring fly ball off Mets pitcher Tobias Myers carried 376 feet and several rows deep in left field.
Suárez batted one inning later, and Cincinnati’s advantage had swelled to 5-0. The bases were loaded with two outs, and the count was full when Suárez sent a ball 406 feet to left-center field, landing atop the Reds’ bullpen.
With two swings in his 44th game of the season, Suárez found himself with seven home runs on the year to go along with 25 RBI. He finished the game 2-for-4, and his averaged was up to .222 while his OPS climbed to .682.
Suárez had used his power to winning effect previously in the season. On March 29, his three-run homer in a 3-2 win provided all the offense Cincinnati needed against the Boston Red Sox. He also landed on the injured list for an oblique injury from April 25 to May 22, but there was still some thought Suárez’s numbers were lagging behind expectations.
Reds manager Terry Francona said he thought Suárez might be close to a hot streak after a long fly ball to right field a day earlier against the Arizona Diamondbacks. Francona added that a hot-hitting Suárez could be huge for Cincinnati.
“Today, I feel good. I feel great about my performance today and that’s something I’ve been looking for for a little bit,” Suárez. “I’ve been working on my swing, like I said. Yesterday was a good example of what was in there… Today was a good day to continue doing what I started yesterday. Like I said, I’m looking for more.”
Cincinnati outfielder JJ Bleday (2-for-4, four RBI’s), the National League Player of the Month for May, clocked a three-run homer in the bottom of the eighth to mark his 13th homer of the season and put the game out of reach. But a few timely hits prior to that by the Mets might have made for a far more interesting contest.
Reds starter Chase Burns (8-1, 2.01 ERA) picked up the win, but New York ran up his pitch count in the fourth and fifth innings. The Mets also loaded the bases with one out in those frames, but Burns worked out of the jams.
Burns struck out seven and walked three with four hits on 101 pitches, and he allowed two runs or less for an MLB-leading 13th time. It was also Burns’ 11th consecutive start in which he allowed two runs or less.
“There was a lot of ‘sit’ for him tonight, which I don’t think he’s gonna complain about but there was some deep counts, some walks,” Francona said.
In the seventh inning, Chase Petty came out of the Reds bullpen and needed just one pitch to end another bases-loaded, one-out threat that Caleb Ferguson found himself in.
The Mets were 1-for-12 with runners in scoring position, and left 12 runners on base. They had six hits, but couldn’t put a dent in Petty’s line.
Petty ended up recording four outs on five pitches to get Cincinnati through the eighth inning. Efficiency like that made him an easy choice to go back out for the ninth inning and finish the game.
“I think his (Petty’s) confidence is growing,” Francona said. “As you see with young guys, as their confidence grows, you don’t put a limit on them because you don’t know what they can do.”
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Eugenio Suárez homers twice in Reds rout of Mets
Reporting by Pat Brennan, Cincinnati Enquirer / Cincinnati Enquirer
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Pat Brennan, Cincinnati Enquirer | USA TODAY Network
