Eugenio Suarez homers twice to lead Reds past Diamondbacks 3-1

The Joe Nuxhall Memorial Honorary Star of the Game

The dingerrific season from Eugenio Suarez just keeps rolling on. On Sunday, the Cincinnati Reds 3B bashed another pair of them, his 46th and 47th blasts of 2019. It buoyed the offense on a day when the Arizona Diamondbacks couldn’t muster much of a counter attack, and led the Reds to a rare road series victory in the process.

Congrats, Geno, and keep on bashing, would ya?

Honorable Mentions are due to: Trevor Bauer, who allowed a lone earned run in 8 IP; Raisel Iglesias, who hammered down the 9th for a save; and Josh VanMeter, who also belted a homer on the day.

Key Plays

• Walks, as they are wont to do, often haunt. That was the case against Trevor Bauer in the Bottom of the 3rd, as a 1-out walk to Alex Avila led to the game’s initial run after the DBacks moved him over on a sac bunt and later plated Avila via a Wilmer Flores single. Reds trailed, 1-0.
• While Arizona starter Zac Gallen kept the Reds bats quiet the first time through the order, that changed when given another opportunity. VanMeter and Suarez went back to back in the Top of the 4th, with VanMeter’s solo blast heading out to LF while Suarez blasted one some 500 bajillion - ok, just 456 - feet to straightaway CF, and the Reds led, 2-1.
• Robby Scott took over for the Top of the 6th, but that didn’t matter to Suarez, who took him incredibly deep for another solo shot, this time driving himself in for his 100th ribbie of the season. Reds led, 3-1, which is fortunately how this one wrapped.

Tony Graphanino

Other Notes

• It was announced earlier today that Angels uberstar Mike Trout would undergo season-ending surgery on his banged up foot, which is decidedly a bummer. Pair that with the fractured kneecap of Brewers stud Christian Yelich, and the game has lost two of its best and brightest in the last week. That said, that leaves pretty much just Mets slugger Pete Alonso as the lone competition for the dinger crown of 2019 for Eugenio Suarez at this point. Both currently have 47, though the Mets play later tonight.
• The Chicago Cubs entered play on Sunday with a 1-game lead over Milwaukee for the final NL Wild Card spot, which makes the Reds next series a bit interesting. The Reds will head to Chicago later today, and on Monday they’ll begin a 3-game set against the baby bears with a chance to truly help spoil their season, which is intriguing as hell. First pitch Monday is set for 8:05 PM ET, and will feature a star-studded mound matchup between Sonny Gray and Cole Hamels.
• Tunes.